Kagome's Quest
by Shadow Kat-Lyn
Summary: After defeating Naraku, the gang is still looking for the last Shikon Shards. But why has Kagome suddenly been disappearing and what's with this mysterious new inu youkai hanging around? What has Kagome been keeping from the gang? Complete!
1. Chapter 1

"Inu Yasha! Behind you!" Kagome yelled as a huge worm demon snuck up behind him. The group was attacked by a colony of the stupid things, and they were currently trying to defeat them all. The three biggest of them had a Jewel Shard each. They had defeated Naraku a month or so ago, but they were still missing a quarter of the Jewel, even after finding all of his Shards.

"Just aim for those Shards!" Inu Yasha yelled back at her after ripping the weaker worm to pieces. Sango, Mirouku, and Kirara were all fighting off the weaker demons while Inu Yasha and Kagome faced the three stronger ones. Kagome was trying to get a clear shot with her arrows at the spot where the Jewels were. Suddenly, Kagome let an arrow loose and it struck the biggest worm in the head and traveled down its body, completely destroying it. After seeing this happen, the demons without the Shards took off, leaving the other two there. Inu Yasha quickly destroyed the other two. Kagome got the three Shards easily. She placed them in the crack in the pink/purple gem.

"How many Shards do you think there are?" Sango asked as she, Mirouku, Shippou, and Kirara walked up to Inu Yasha and Kagome.

"Well, we know Kouga has two, and Kohaku still has his. Those are the only ones we know about." Kagome said, thinking about her allies and enemies. "That still leaves an eighth of it missing. Luckily, Naraku didn't find them all. Or we'd still be fighting him."

"Yeah right! We'd have beaten him sooner than we did if **you** hadn't got in my way!" The others just sighed before heading back to their camp. Over the past few years, the gang had become bored from hearing Kagome and Inu Yasha argue, mostly over something he said or did.

"Oh please! If **I** hadn't been there to disable his regenerative powers, you couldn't have beat him."

"Take all the credit why don't you! If I hadn't sliced him in half in the first place. . . ."

"We wouldn't have had to battle two Narakus before I found the Jewel and took it. If I hadn't taken the Jewel from him, you wouldn't have stood a chance against him!" Kagome interrupted Inu Yasha. Lately, she had been yelling at him more and more and sitting him less and less.

"Right. If you hadn't kept shooting him with those arrows and keeping him focused on you instead of me, I would've finished him sooner.

"Drop it, would ya? I was trying to be nice today. I **was **thinking about taking that necklace off you! But on second thought, SIT!" Inu Yasha was lying flat on the forest while Kagome was storming back to the camp.

* * *

When Kagome got back to camp, she didn't say a word. She looked calm, and acted it too. She just picked up her bag and Shippo and left. She wasn't heading toward the well, but they weren't worried about her. If she got into trouble, Shippou would come find Inu Yasha and he would rush off to save her, as usual. Inu Yasha came back half an hour later, in a very grumpy mood. The others decided not to even say anything to him. 

_'Stupid girl. At least she didn't go home; she took Shippou with her. Unless she's trying to take him with her. Oh well. Good riddance! She'll come back in a couple of days and then we'll start looking for the other Shards. Why am I still thinking about her though?'_ Inu Yasha tried desperately to get his thought off Kagome but it didn't work.

**End Chapter**

Ok. This is just a sample of a new story I've worked up. I'll leave it up for a week. I might update it after that, or I might take it down. Thanks to everyone who is reading this and has read my previous unsuccessful stories.  
**Disclaimer for all chapters:** I do not own Inu Yasha. I own a few original characters, character designs, and the plot. Nothing else!  
Also, because of way of uploading chapters, I have lost my scene changers and my tabs. So, I will say that the chapter is over when its over, and a single line is a scene changer.  
I have looked this chapter over several times, and I have spell checked it twice. Please tell me if there are any mistakes and constructive critisim is welcomed.

Kat-Lyn


	2. Chapter 2

"Where is she?" Inu Yasha asked no one as he waited impatiently beside the well. It had been nearly a week and neither Shippou nor Kagome had turned back up. He had already searched the forest for both of them.

"Inu Yasha, if you're so worried about them, then go to her house and ask if she's shown up there. If she hasn't then you can come back and tell us. Then we will all help look for them." Mirouku tried reasoning with the agitated hanyou.

"Keh! I'm not worried about her or Shippou! I'm worried about the Jewel!" He snapped back. Mirouku just sighed before heading back to the village where Sango was. "What does he know anyway?" Inu Yasha muttered to himself as Mirouku left the clearing. "She better be there."

* * *

As it was, Kagome was currently walking through the woods. She didn't really have a purpose, and it was quite strange. Her birthday was at the end of the week, on the night of a full moon. It would be her eighteenth birthday. When Shippou had asked her where they were headed and why, she simply said to get away from Inu Yasha. Nevertheless, Shippou could tell that there was something bothering his adopted mother, even if she hid it very well. However, at the moment, he thought little of it, it being the middle of the day and he was currently playing in a clearing. Then, quite suddenly, a demon appeared.

* * *

Inu Yasha had come through the well. He entered her room via the window and sniffed around. Her scent was barely there, like she had not been there in a while, which she hadn't. She came home for a couple of hours after the final battle, but only to get medical supplies. He had been with her and she only came up to her room to get a few changes of clothes and a few books. He was starting to get worried.

_'Maybe she was attacked in the forest; I just overlooked it. No! I won't think like that. She is just out in the forest calming down. So that when she sees me again she won't get into an argument with me. There is not a problem. She just needs some time.' _Inu Yasha tried to convice himself. He exited the room the same way he entered and headed back to his time. However, as he was going to the well house, a strange-looking man approached the house. Inu Yasha hid behind a wall and watched the man. The man was tall, in his late twenties or early thirties, and had the strangest aura about him. He looked normal enough, though the silver streaks through his elbow length straight black hair made it look older than his face, and his eyes were a strange blue, like Kagome's but with a sort of glow that Inu Yasha couldn't describe.

The man walked under the Goshinboku and stopped. He looked up at the white scar-like place where bark refused to grow. He lightly ran his finger over the spot, as if it held some meaning for him. Then suddenly, he turned and stared straight at Inu Yasha. Then he turned back to the tree before leaving a few moments later. Inu Yasha was rooted to the spot by that man's gaze.

For the briefest moment, his eyes had turned an emerald green color with the same gold color of his own eyes around the edges.

**End Chapter**

Finished! Ooh, a mysterious person! Email me if you think you know where I'm going! My email is inuyashafanatic4ever . Thanks!

Kat-Lyn


	3. Chapter 3

Shippou was playing in the middle of a field-like clearing, chasing after the butterflies and insects. Kagome was standing in the middle of it, watching Shippou play while standing guard all the same. The demon appeared behind Kagome, but she slowly turned around to face him.

He looked human enough, but there were obvious signs he was a demon. His hair was black, but it had a strange blue tint to it along with a few silver streaks, and it came to his knees, although it was completely straight, except for his bangs and forelocks. His eyes were emerald green with a few golden specks in them. The most unusual about him though were his clothes. His pants were black, and looked similar to sweat pants, though they were made of a noticeably thinner cloth. His shirt was like Inu Yasha's white undershirt, though his was navy blue and the sleeves went to his wrists. Over that, he had a slightly lighter blue piece of material, which went to his knees and split from his waist to his knees. It had on that a faint black outline of a wild dog or a wolf. His belt was a dark emerald green, and it tied on his left side, displaying two two-foot trails of extra material that faded in dark blue at the ends. His claws were black and a tail followed him, almost like Kouga's except his barely touched the ground and was black and silver streaked like his hair. To top it off, he had inu ears similar to Inu Yasha's on top of his head, though his were black with silver tips.

And he had very deadly weapons. A sword hung from his waist next to a dagger, and two more daggers were concealed under his pants, near his ankles.

"Hello Kagome."

* * *

Inu Yasha had come back to the village earlier and said that Kagome had not been home. Mirouku and Sango were flying above the treetops on Kirara looking in the clearings for Kagome and Inu Yasha was searching in the heavily wooded areas. They once thought they had seen her at a distance, but there was nothing in the clearing when they were within landing distance of it. Soon they found Inu Yasha waiting for them. He searched the entire area, but there was nothing. Since it was almost dark, they headed back to the village, all of them sad. 

Then, at noon the day after her eighteenth birthday, she suddenly showed back up in the village. No harm had befallen her or Shippou. She simply said she wanted to get away from Inu Yasha and just relax in the woods with Shippou, and he stuck to her story. They had been deep in the woods, deeper than Inu Yasha and the others had looked. Not a single member of their gang believed this story, but they did not argue, seeing how she had not came back hurt. She stayed there for a few days before heading home, without Inu Yasha. She said she would only be there for a couple of hours, and promised she would come back before sunset. She had missed her birthday, again, and said she only wanted to spend a little while with her family before she came back for a couple of months to look for the remaining Jewel Shards. She promised this to Inu Yasha, then left early the next morning. They figured by around three the hanyou would go get her, but he shocked them. He stayed on top of Keade's hut's roof the entire day. Obviously having Kagome there for months without going home was a big enough bribe to keep him there.

But just as the sun was setting and the hanyou about to go get Kagome, she came walking up to the hut. She saw Inu Yasha on top of the hut as she approached, and had a few words with him, before going inside the hut. She explained that she had went home to pick up a few new outfits she had had made. She said they were some type of fighting kimono, and pulled one of the more elaborate ones out. Her outfit resembled the outfit that the mysterious demon she and Shippou had met in the forest, though hers were varying shades of emerald where his were blue, and her belt was black ending in emerald. The design was very different as well. It was a faint silver outlined rose, with a black outlined bow on the front. Across the back was stitched in black the symbols for hope, love, and power, along with a black outline of an arrow.

* * *

"Inu Yasha!" Kagome yelled at him that a snake demon approached him from behind. After a week of unsuccessful lead following, they were stalled in Keade's village for a few days waiting for the new moon to pass. Then they got a break as Kagome sensed a few Shards south. They had been searching for a little more than a week when they found a few Shards. They were fighting off a group of random demons, five of which had minuscule shards. Kagome had trouble finding where they were located because they were so small, although she had retrieved four of them. The last one was the largest, although it still took Kagome a few extra seconds to find where it was. "The Shard is in its tail!" 

"Gotcha!" Inu Yasha sliced a good portion of its tail off easily, considering it wasn't any larger than Kagome. Mirouku then purified the head easily as Kagome pointed out exactly where the Jewel Shard was.

"That only leaves a tiny bit less of the Jewel to find. Even after factoring in the three known Shards, we still have a lot of work ahead. This is starting to seem impossible." Kagome sighed as she tucked the necklace with the gem on it under her outfit. She sat down at the base of a nearby tree and shut her eyes. Then just as suddenly as she sat down, she sprang to her feet, facing north, and with a slightly annoyed look on her face.

"Two Shards heading this way fast."

**End Chapter  
**  
Hello again! Thank you for all the lovely reviews! I decided to go ahead and post this chapter. I'm tired of waiting a week. I might update again at the end of the week, but I don't know.  
If you think you know why Kagome disappeared and who the guy in the future and who the demon is, please email me. I read all emails I get, and I don't block anything. My email is inuyashafanatic4ever and the part after the sign is yahoo .com .  
Thanks again for reading!

Kat-Lyn


	4. Chapter 4

"Stupid wolf. Doesn't know when to quit." Inu Yasha mumbled as Kouga entered the clearing. He was about to grasp Kagome's hands when she picked up Shippou just to stop him.

"Hello Kagome." Kagome narrowed her eyes at Kouga before surprising everyone.

"Kouga, I need your Shards back." She said this very quietly, as she looked over to Inu Yasha.

"You do? Then you're almost finished with the Jewel then, right?" Kouga tried looking Kagome in the eyes, but she avoided them.

"Yeah. There are only a few more we have to find, including yours and Kohaku's. It's almost completed."

"What are you going to do with it?" Kouga asked as he bent down to retrieve the two Shards out of his legs.

"I...I don't know yet." Kagome said quietly. _'I've already promised the Jewel to Inu Yasha, but if I say that then Kouga might not hand his Shards over without a fight. I really don't need this stress right now. Especially not now.'_ Kagome thought. Clearly, Inu Yasha was about to answer that she was going to hand the Jewel over to him, but she shot him a look that shut him up fast.

_'What has gotten into Kagome lately? Something's wrong and Shippou knows about it but he won't say a word against her. But what could be so bad that she wouldn't talk to us about it? I guess I'll get it out of her eventually. Maybe.'_ Inu Yasha watched Kagome's mood go from almost lost to angry in a few seconds with a few words.

"Kagome, why don't you give me the Jewel?" Her eye twitched slightly as she sat Shippou down.

"Why should I give it to you?"

"Because. You're my woman." Ok, he crossed the line.

"I'm/ She's **not** your woman!" Kagome and Inu Yasha both yelled at him. Kouga stood in shock after that.

"I only love you as a friend. Like Sango or Mirouku." Kagome said so quietly that only Kouga, Shippou, and Inu Yasha could hear. "I'm sorry Kouga for leading you on like I have been. But I'm in love with another." This time even the two demons and the half demon had a hard time hearing her. Kagome was now staring at the ground right in front of Inu Yasha. Kouga was about to say something when Kagome's head snapped up, looking to her left. Then, just as suddenly, Kagome said that she had to go. She picked up Shippou and her bag as she ran out of the clearing. Kouga and Inu Yasha ran after her, but Inu Yasha came back a few minutes later saying that they both lost her.

* * *

"Where has she been disappearing to?" Inu Yasha asked himself, while he paced around the clearing they had set up camp in. It had been two days since Kagome and Shippou had disappeared again. 

"Inu Yasha, please go somewhere else to worry about Kagome. You're making me nervous." Sango asked while she watched him pace around the clearing.

"I'm not worried about **her**. I'm worried about the Jewel!" Inu Yasha snapped. He then lept up into the nearest tree and out of sight. Sango sighed. _'Why can't he swallow his pride and tell her? He's obviously in love with her, but Kagome just doesn't seem to get it. I guess they're both blind. Kagome has been hinting and trying to flirt with Inu Yasha since Kikyo died, but he's just a stubborn male, just like the rest. Blind to what is in front of them till it's too late. I just hope Kagome doesn't get hurt because of this.'_ Sango thought. She sighed again before slapping Mirouku across the face and hitting him over the head with her Hiraikotsu.

"You stupid pervert! When will you learn?"

**End Chapter  
**Yes, another short chapter. Sorry! Most of them are going to be short, but I'll work on making them longer!  
I meant to update yesterday, 2-20, but we were having internet problems. But they're all fixed now! I'll try and update in a couple more days.  
Like it? Hate it? Have an opinion? Send a review! If you ask a question, I'll reply with an answer!

Kat-Lyn


	5. Chapter 5

Kagome snuck back into camp with a sleeping Shippou in her arms. It was around midnight, on the third day after Kouga showed up. Inu Yasha was sitting in a tree above the clearing when Kagome showed back up. Mirouku and Sango were sleeping on separate sides of the dying fire. Kagome sat opposite the tree Inu Yasha was in and laid down to sleep with her back to him.

_'What's been going on with her lately? And what's with her scent? It's changed, but I can't describe it. I might be able to get it out of Shippou, but he's hardly ever out of her sight. Maybe Sango could find out; she's close to Kagome.'_ Inu Yasha thought of ways to get Kagome to tell him why she's been disappearing lately. He sat up a few more hours before finally forming a plan in his head. He then fell into a light sleep.

* * *

"When did you get here Kagome?" Sango asked as she sat up and saw Kagome cooking breakfast over the campfire. 

"Last night. I didn't want to wake you up because it was late. So, are you hungry?" Kagome asked as she fixed Sango a plate. They talked quietly while they ate and waited for the boys to wake up. They talked about the Jewel mostly, like where the last few Shards are, and what Kagome plans on doing after the Jewel is completed.

"I promised Inu Yasha I'd give the Jewel to him. I haven't broken a promise yet and I don't plan on it. I don't know what will happen after that." Kagome looked down at her plate.

"What do you think he'll wish for?"

"I don't know anymore. He said he wanted it to become a full demon when we first met, but he's already stronger than his father. I don't want him to change, but I won't leave, whatever he chooses. I promised myself that a long time ago." Kagome had gotten quieter while she talked, so that Sango barely heard her. _'I can't leave now. Not since I found out. I would break down anywhere I went in either time. I need to tell them soon.'_

"Kagome . . . " Sango thought about what to say to cheer up her best friend. "Hey, why don't we go scout around a bit before the boys wake up. We can have a nice uninterrupted girl talk." Sango stood up and picked up her Hiraikotsu.

"Yeah. I'm going to leave a note though, so the guys won't worry about us." Kagome also stood up. She found a blank piece of paper and a pen in her bag. She wrote that she and Sango had went to look around the area for possible Shards and that if anything happened, one of them would come back for them.

* * *

"So Kagome, why have you been disappearing lately? You've had us all worried, especially Inu Yasha." Sango said as she and Kagome walked down an old path in the forest. 

"It's complicated, Sango. I know you all are concerned, but please don't worry. I've come back unharmed every time."

"I know you don't want us to worry, Kagome, but we can't help it. We've known each other for almost three years. I think of all of you as family."

"I know how you feel. You're like the older sister I never had, Shippou's like my son, and Mirouku's like an annoying cousin or something."

"Yeah. Annoying and perverted."

"Uh huh." Kagome paused as she stopped in the middle of the road. She glanced down the road both ways before taking a deep breath. "Hey Sango, on second thought, I think I will tell you why I've been disappearing. That way you can help." Sango stopped and turned to Kagome, and Kagome started walking into the forest surrounding them.

**End Chapter  
**Sorry! I'm working on making the chapters longer! I've also been having computer and internet problems lately so I haven't been able to update till now. Like I said before, email me if you have any idea about why Kagome might be dissappearing, or, if you're registered, send me a PM through or, if you have Yahoo! Instant Messenger, send me an IM on there. My name is inuyashafanatic4ever.

Kat-Lyn


	6. Chapter 6

"Where did those two get to?" Inu Yasha asked as he suddenly woke up and noticed that Sango and Kagome weren't in the camp. "Kirara's missing too." Inu Yasha jumped down next to the fire. He noticed a folded piece of paper on the ground under a small rock. He picked it up and read it. He sighed before turning his attention to the food set out for him, Shippou, and Mirouku. After a while Shippou woke up, then Mirouku. After questioning Inu Yasha about the girls whereabouts, they decided to eat their breakfast.

"They'll be back in a little while, so we might as well relax a while." Mirouku reasoned as he stretched out against a tree.

* * *

After a while, the girls came back. Kagome said that they had spotted a small village a half days travel away. They decided to go there and refill some of their supplies. And, of course, Inu Yasha made Kagome mad on the way there. Of course, she sat him. 

"Kagome, try to be nice to him. We're almost through with finding the Shards. He's just getting bored that we haven't had any leads." Sango tried to reason with the angry girl. Kagome sighed.

"Yeah. I guess you're right. At least we'll get some rest up here." Kagome said under her breath. At that moment, a demon walked up to the group from the village. The gang stopped as the guy looked them over. It was the mysterious demon that Kagome and Shippou had met before her birthday.

"Hello. My name is Tori. I am the protector of the village up ahead. I sensed that three demons were approaching and I came to see if you are evil or not." He spoke with a calm and trusting manner, and he studied each in the group carefully. "After seeing you, I doubt you are evil. I invite you to stay in the village as guests of mine." Inu Yasha stood up and growled at him, after the subduing spell finally wore off.

"How do we know that you're not after the Jewel?" Inu Yasha questioned as his hand went to Tetsusaiga's hilt. Tori looked him over and studied his sword carefully for a minute before speaking.

"You're one of the sons of the old Lord of the West, am I right?" He paused and watched Inu Yasha's reaction. "I knew it! I recognized that sword; I went with him when he had it and Tenseiga made. I had two made for my two children as well, though they aren't nearly as powerful as yours. I was one of your father's best friends. It's nice to see you off of that tree." Everyone stood in shock.

"How did you know about that?" Mirouku asked, seeing as how the hanyou he was talking to seemed unable to reply.

"I think that we should continue this inside the village. You shouldn't stay in one place for long. Please follow me." He turned and slowly started back the way he came. The three humans looked at each other before Kagome shrugged.

"I don't sense any evil demons in the area, although I think he has some Jewel Shards." That seemed to settle things. They all followed after Tori.

**End Chapter  
**Sorry sorry sorry! I'm very good at writing short chapters. I'll be nice to you though and update twice today. I will try to make these things longer though. Oh, and just as a teaser, when Shadow Dragon reviewed for chapter 5, you are dancing right around the truth. She's not half demon though, I can tell you all that much.;P

Kat-Lyn


	7. Chapter 7

"Um . . . Tori? Do you happen to have any of the Sacred Jewel Shards?" Kagome asked as they approached the village he protects.

"Yes. I've been keeping them, hoping I would be able to find the Jewel's protector. Demons have attacked the village several times for them, but mostly low-class ones. Why?" He looked over his shoulder at the gang.

"Because I'm its guardian." Tori looked her over once.

"Oh. Well, when we get to my place, I'll hand them over to you." He stopped at the top of the slight hill they had climbed. On the far side was a small village, surrounded by water on three sides, but not a peninsula. "This is my village."

* * *

When the gang entered the village, they noticed something extremely odd. Most of the inhabitants were humans, but there were a good many of them youkai of all types. They followed Tori to the outskirts of the town, where a good sized house-like hut stood. When the gang entered after him they were surprised at the simplistic style, and at all the weapons he's collected. 

The hut consisted of a large open front room with a door at the rear of it that lead, presumably, to the bedrooms. It was decorated with tables all around the room. The tables were filled with knives, throwing daggers, ninja stars, and an assortment of bows and arrows. On the walls above the tables were swords and daggers of all sizes, staffs, sickles and chains, and surprisingly, a small variety of sling shots. He beckoned them over to a corner of the room. He stood beside several swords, daggers, a slingshot, and a two-foot bow.

"All of these were made by Totosai. These are my best weapons, which I only use on attacking youkai. Those peaceful youkai in the village have come over the years. Most of them have gotten into trouble with bandits or large groups of humans and they needed a protected village to live in. We are a very tightknit community." He explained while taking down one of Totosai's swords. "This is one of the swords I had made at the same time as Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga. This one was made for my daughter . . . " He trailed off lightly as he stared down at the sword. _'If they only knew . . . '_

Seeing the sad and loving smile on Tori's face, the gang decided not to ask any more questions. Instead, Inu Yasha opted to be his usual rude self.

"What exactly are you?"

"Eh . . . I'm a little more than a half demon, but not by much. I come from a very messed up family." He added, seeing the confused looks on everyone's faces. "My mom was half, and my dad was a full demon, both inu youkai. So, would you like me to get those Jewel Shards now?" He asked Kagome. She nodded once. He walked into the back of the hut and returned a few moments later, a handful of tiny fragments in his hand. Kagome held out her palm and he dumped them into her hand. The moment they touched her hand they purified, and Kagome started to place them into the crack in the Jewel she had hanging from her neck.

"Where are the rest of them?" She asked when she was finished, shocking everyone. "They're too tiny for me to pinpoint exactly, but they're here." She looked around, trying to spot the familiar pink glow showing only her where they are. Tori smiled.

"I wasn't about to hand over the Shards to just anyone. I hid these to test you." Tori pulled out several more Shards that would be about the size of one of Kouga's together. Kagome took them from him and added them to the Jewel.

"Just Kohaku's and a few tiny pieces left." Kagome said while tucking the Jewel under her clothes. Sango nodded at her in understanding.

"Would you like a place to sleep for the night? I have a few extra guest bedrooms, and it would be nice to have company for dinner." Tori offered. At that moment, Shippou's stomach growled loudly and everyone laughed.

"I guess that's a yes."

**End Chapter**

Yet another short chapter done. Like I said last chapter, this is the double update for today. I'll try to update sometime before next week, but no promises.;P

Kat-Lyn


	8. Chapter 8

"So Tori, why do you have all these weapons?" Mirouku asked as he looked over the few staffs leaning against on of the walls.

"Most of them were gifts from blacksmiths, swordsmen, and peddlers. Some of them I had made, and others I found or bought." Mirouku nodded as he seemed transfixed by a particular staff. It resembled his own, but there were strange symbols carved into the dark wood of the handle. "That one was a gift, given to me by warrior monk. He said that those carvings were ancient symbols and that it could channel spiritual powers. Obviously I haven't tried it out." Tori said as he noticed the staff the monk was looking at. "You can pick it up. I don't mind. Just don't touch the ones made by Totosai." Tori said while Mirouku thanked him and set his own staff down and picked up Tori's. Everyone had already eaten dinner, and Tori had entertained them during and a little while after they ate by telling them stories of his travels, and how he came to possess so many of the Shikon Shards.

Sango was looking longingly at the sickles and chains, thinking about her brother. Tori, after ending his little conversation with Mirouku had come up behind her.

"Bad memories?" Sango turned to him, startled. Then she nodded slowly and turned back to the weapons. One in particular caught her eye.

"I recognize that one. I think I helped make it." Tori nodded and picked up the sickle.

"This one came from the village of the Demon Slayers. About ten years ago I helped them out when they came to a village near here. They said that if I ever needed anything to send word and help would come. I knew that your boomerang was from the village, but I didn't know that they had female slayers."

"I was one of our best." Sango looked away as tears threatened to surface. She blinked them back as Tori nodded and left her to go over to where Inu Yasha was seated stubbornly next to the door. Tori sat beside him. Inu Yasha just glared.

"Still don't trust me? If you went down to the village and asked anybody, they would tell you that I have risked my life too many times to count to protect this village."

"Doesn't make you not evil." Inu Yasha sneered. Tori sighed.

"Inu Yasha, don't be so quick to judge. I could sit here all day and tell you stories of your father and your mother. I knew them both very well. Even you and my daughter played together when you were little." Tori sighed again.

"How many kids do you have?"

"Two. My daughter is older, and her brother is about four years younger than she."

"What happened to them?"

"We were attacked a few days after my son was born. I sent them north, to where their mother was born. When I went back to find them after it was safe for them to return, I couldn't get to them. The Northern Lord banned me and any messages from me in his lands." Tori then noticed Shippou looking examining one of his slingshots. "Can I assume that the kit is adopted by one of you?"

"You could say that. We met him about three years ago. He's been traveling with us ever since. Kagome acts like a mother to him." He trailed off, deep in thought. Tori smiled.

"Kagome?"

"The one in the green outfit."

"Oh, the young miko. So, how did you get off that tree?"

"Well, fifty years after I was sealed to it, Kagome found the village. She's the one who unsealed me. A demon that was chasing after her found the Jewel. Then a crow got the Jewel, and kidnaped a little boy. I chopped it into pieces, but it regenerated. The boy had the crows foot latched onto its shirt, and Kagome tied it to an arrow because she wasn't that great of an archer then. The arrow hit the crow but it shattered the Jewel.

"We met Shippou, Mirouku, and then Sango. Mirouku was the one who told us about Naraku. Mirouku was out to destroy Naraku because he had cursed Mirouku's family with a black hole in his hand. Sango's village was destroyed because of Naraku, and she teamed up with us." Tori nodded.

"Naraku . . . That name seems familiar. I'll think of it eventually though. If you spot something interesting, bring it to me and I'll give you a little history on it." Tori stood up and walked over to Kagome and Shippou. Shippou was looking at the slingshots still, and Kagome was awed by the bows and arrows Tori had.

"Where did you get all those slingshots?" Shippou asked when Tori was near him.

"Some I had made, but most of them were gifts. In fact, this one," He picked up a dark wood slingshot that was hollow inside and had strange markings around the handle, "was a gift from a kitsune friend of mine. It can channel demonic powers." Shippou almost begged to try it out with his eyes. "What are your powers?"

"Fox fire and illusions mostly."

"Have you ever shot a slingshot before?" Shippou nodded happily. "Would you like to try this one out?" Shippou nodded again. Tori picked up a small pouch that was sitting near the slingshots and motioned for Shippou to follow him. He went to one of the windows in the front room and dug out a small pebble from the pouch. He positioned it in the slingshot and aimed at a tree that was nearby. He fired the small pebble. A hole at least half a foot wide and a few inches deep appeared in the tree.

"That old tree has been here almost as long as I have. If you went out there to look at it, you would see holes of all sizes all around it." He handed the slingshot to Shippou, who was on his shoulder. He then handed him a smooth stone. "Don't worry about hurting it. It should be dead years ago." Shippou nodded and lept to the window sill. He aimed at the tree. "Just pretend that it's your hand and use your fox fire." Before Shippou fired the stone, it came alive with his bright blue flames. It hit the tree a couple feet above the ground, and made a slight indent in the bark. The flames went out as soon as the stone hit the tree. Shippou stood in shock.

"Wow."

**End Chapter  
**I am so sorry! I've been having internet problems for about a week now. So happy Valentine's Day and consider this a present! It's longer than most so enjoy. Pretty soon most will be revealed, but remember this: Kagome won't reveal everything when she speaks about why she disappeared, but most will be. There's a great part I've left out for later.;P

Kat-Lyn


	9. Chapter 9

"Wow." Was all that Shippou could say. Kagome, who had followed them, giggled a bit at Shippou before he came back to Earth. Tori had managed to sneak away from the window and was currently standing at the door, where a villager stood nervously.

"A Jewel Shard has appeared in the village. A demon slayer came and asked to see you."

"Send him up here. I'll take care of him." Tori told the villager before turning to the others. "Kagome, someone has come here claiming to have a Shard." Kagome nodded.

"It's a real one. But there shouldn't be one this big left." Kagome said after a few moments. Tori nodded.

* * *

Before long, a teenaged boy entered the hut. The gang was stunned. 

"Ko . . . Kohaku?" Sango stuttered as she stood up from where Tori had them seated. Kohaku looked at her.

"Sister." Sango hugged the boy as tears fell from her eyes. He hugged her back. Tori was sitting back with an understanding smile on his face. Kagome looked over to Inu Yasha with dread in her eyes. "I came here looking for Tori, hoping that he had more of the Shards so that you would come here for them. After you defeated Naraku, it took some time, but all of my memories came back. Naraku lied to you though. After a year I was healed enough that I didn't need the Shard anymore, but I convinced Naraku not to take it. Here." Kohaku pulled out the piece of the Shikon no Tama he had once had in his back.

"Thank you Kohaku." Kagome said before taking the Shard and placing it in the almost whole gem.

"How did you find out about Tori? I barely even remember meeting him."

"Father told me one day while we were training. Why are you here?"

"We were looking for the rest of the Shards when we met Tori and he invited us here."

* * *

"Kagome." Tori was standing in the middle of a small stand of trees near his home. "You need to tell them. Tomorrow night is a full moon." 

"A month since my birthday." Kagome said. She was standing opposite him. "You are a very good actor, by the way. Mirouku and Inu Yasha don't suspect a thing."

"You've avoided me most of the time. Not confident in your acting skills?" Kagome sweat dropped and laughed nervously.

"You could say that. I think you convinced Inu Yasha with tactfully obscuring what happened. Mirouku probably is on his guard, but he's quite trusting. I told Sango the morning you found us." Tori nodded in understanding.

"I thought as much. She has avoided me a lot too." Kagome fell silent for a minute or so before she spoke again.

"I think I will tell them tomorrow. I can't wait to see their faces."

* * *

"Hey guys. Want to know why I've been disappearing lately?" Kagome asked as she helped Tori and Sango cook breakfast for everyone. She sat down next to the guys and took a deep breath before looking at them. 

"Of course."

"Ok. Well...um..." Kagome tried to find the words to explain it. _'Maybe I should have just explained it to them one by one. Oh well, no turning back now.'_ "I..."

**End Chapter  
**Ok, before you all kill me for that evil cliffie, I have to say that I'm really sorry that I haven't updated sooner. Now, I'llupdate again whenever I can and whenever I feel like it, but some nice reviews might convince me to update sooner. Also, last chance to guess why Kagome's been dissappearing. I'll tell you all this much, the reivews I've gotten are similar to what's going on, but I'm not telling who's is similar. Thanks to my reviews!

Kat-Lyn


	10. Chapter 10

"I...I..." Kagome seemed to freeze before she finally got up enough courage to continue. "Tori . . . " Kagome breathed deeply before she finished quietly."Tori is my dad." She closed her eyes and waited for the reaction she knew was coming.

"What? How is that possible? You're human!"

"Not fully. My mother fell into the well when she was younger, and was rescued by Tori."

"More like she rescued me." Tori added from near the fire pit.

"Yeah. Well, they fell in love and had me. A few years later my little brother was born. A few days after Souta was born, we were attacked. Tori forced us back through the well after sealing mine and my brother's demon blood."

"Then after it was safe for them to return, the well had sealed itself. It wouldn't let me back through. So, I started wandering, and came to this town. They had a few problem demons, and I helped them. I settled down here and they've come to me for protection ever since." Tori said while handing out breakfast to everyone. Everyone was silent, neither of the three boys knowing what to say. Kagome kept her eyes on her plate as she ate. After a few more tense moments, Mirouku talked.

"So why did you disappear those two times?"

"The first time was to meet Tori in the forest, so he could unseal my demon blood and train me a little, and the second time was just to train. And I was afraid that if I didn't leave when I did, I would say something I would regret to Kouga." Kagome grew quieter with each sentence. _'What is he thinking? Why hasn't he said anything?'_ She chanced to look up at Inu Yasha who looked like he was focused on his breakfast.

"So, Shippou knew about this?" Mirouku asked as he noticed Kagome staring at Inu Yasha, and him trying to avoid her gaze. Slowly Kagome nodded.

"I told Sango yesterday morning while we were out scouting." She looked back down to her plate. After a few more minutes of intense silence, Kagome couldn't take it anymore. She had to do something. "Would you guys like to see what I really look like then?" She looked up as Mirouku, Kohaku, and Inu Yasha nodded, though, the half demon looked like he was paying more attention to his food. Kagome stood up. "There isn't much of a difference." Kagome let the cloaking spell fall and her true appearance be revealed.

She was right; there wasn't much of a difference. Her hair, which now reached her waist, stayed black, but the tips turned silver. Her eyes stayed blue, but green and gold flecks appeared in them, and her ears grew more pointed on the tips so that they were similar to Shippou's. She also had fangs and claws, though hers were noticeably longer than Inu Yasha's. But her most noticeable new feature was her tail. It was similar to her fathers, although hers had fewer silver streaks and was about a foot longer.

"Wow."

**End Chapter  
**Ok. Secrets out. Also, I might have mentioned this before but some of the things that happen on the show don't happen in this universe. This takes place soon after the Souten episodes, and before the Band of Seven arch(does anyone know the Japanese name for them?). Inu Yasha and co. defeated Naraku before he could revive the Seven. But Kikyo still "dies". She might actually have a part on down the road, but nothing's for sure yet.

Also, I'm not out of tricks yet! There's lots of fluff in the next few chapters, because this story originally was going to be a Romeo and Juliet type deal, but with my own spin. As you can see, from around the second chapter I got off. I like this plot better! Then, after the fluff, Kouga's back in the picture, and a new really really evil dude(hopefully)!

Another note, thanks to those 5 reviewers. Iwas waiting on3 reviews(I set low goals) to update, and here I have 5! Thanks again!

Kat-Lyn


	11. Chapter 11

"Wow." Kagome heard one of the boys whisper. She sat back down with a sigh; Inu Yasha was paying more attention to his food than her. _'Wait a minute. Since when do I care if he's paying attention to me?'_ Kagome questioned herself as Tori broke the nervous silence.

"You all must stay tonight. I don't want Kagome running around on a full moon night." Finally, Inu Yasha spoke.

"Why not?"

"Tonight is my night of vulnerability."

"Your human night is on a full moon?"

"Not human night. I'm like my dad, I'm a little more than half demon. Mom is half. I keep a tiny bit of my demonic power, but barely enough to matter. My looks change dramatically though."

* * *

Tori sat in a corner of his bedroom. It was near midnight. He heard the faint crackling of a small fire and two faint voices. He sighed before standing up and entering the front room of his hut.

"I won't get any sleep tonight thanks to you two." He told the two before sitting next to Inu Yasha. He and Kagome had stayed up talking after everyone had gone to bed. Kagome had changed drastically, like she said. Her hair was still black, but instead of silver tips, it had many silver streaks. Her eyes changed to emerald with gold flecks in them, and her ears disappeared and were replaced with black inu ears with silver tips on top of her head. Her tail stayed the same, except the silver streaks were replaced with silver tips.

"Sorry."

"It's all right. I've been meaning to speak to you two alone anyway."

"What about?"

"Well, about you two. Remember when I said that you two used to play together when you were little?" Tori paused as Inu Yasha nodded. "I wondered if either of you remembered."

"I remember bits and pieces, not much. Didn't I almost burn a house down with my slingshot?" Kagome asked. Tori laughed before nodding.

"If Inu Yasha hadn't had helped you, the most you would have done was make a tiny little burn mark on the side of it." Inu Yasha looked puzzled.

"What did I do?"

"You found the matches." Inu Yasha looked away as Tori laughed at his reaction. "I thought you would remember more, you are a year or so older than Kagome."

"I remember her almost chopping my head off."

"I did not! I was practicing my swordsmanship and you walked in front of me right when I swung!" Kagome protested.

"You are both lucky I was nearby. I also have something that I think you will want back." Tori said as his expression turned from amused to serious as he turned to Inu Yasha. He pulled out something that was tucked in his belt. He handed it to Inu Yasha gently. "I was saving it for when you were unsealed from the tree." Inu Yasha stared at it in shock.

"Wasn't this . . . " He started softly, but found himself unable to finish. It was a gold and silver necklace chain with a small heart pendant on it. Tori nodded softly.

"I found it a few years ago in the woods where your mother lost it. I was surprised to find it in such good condition. The chain has a piece of your fathers hair wound through it. He gave it to her a few days before you were born." Inu Yasha nodded gently before tucking it into his haori.

"Now, on a lighter note, do you remember these?" Tori asked as he pulled out three earrings. They were all basically the same; a small stud with an inch chain connected to a crescent moon. One was gold with a silver star in the middle of the moon and a small ruby set in the middle of the star, and the other two were silver with gold stars in the middle with an emerald gem in one and a sapphire gem in the other. He handed the gold one to Inu Yasha and the two silver ones to Kagome. They took them and studied them carefully.

"You both used to wear them when you were little." Kagome laughed a little as she tried to imagine Inu Yasha wearing the golden earring.

"Didn't Momma make me these?"

"Yeah. Then you convinced Suko to make another for Inu Yasha. You even got him to pierce his ear." Kagome chuckled as she spied the strange look on Inu Yasha's face. "I have a dozen or so pictures that your mother took. Want to see them?" Kagome nodded her head happily as she tried to find the earring holes in her ears, hoping that they haven't grown up. Tori stood and went over to a nearby table and pulled out a small box that none of them had noticed earlier. He opened it after sitting back down and flipped through it before picking out a picture. He handed it to Kagome.

It had a five-year-old Inu Yasha sitting on a small stool with her mother, who looked very different from what she was used to, standing next to him. Inu Yasha looked to be in pain and her mother was holding something through his left ear. Kagome tried to hold back a laugh before she handed the picture over to Inu Yasha.

"Hey, I remember that! That really hurt!" His hand went up to his ear and felt around for the small hole that was in it.

"Can I see those?" Kagome asked before her father handed over the box. She flipped through the pictures. The one that caught her eye the most was a picture of her and Inu Yasha together. She looked about four, and she was wearing a dark blue miko-like outfit, had a sword hanging from her waist, and a bow slung over her shoulder. She had her arms around Inu Yasha's neck and was giggling by the looks of it. He didn't look much different from he did now; the sword on his waist wasn't Tetsusaiga, a small black choker with a silver dog pendant sewn directly onto it took the place of his prayer bead necklace and he looked to be about five or six. He had a small smile on his face and had his arms around her waist. He also had a wreath of small white flowers on top of his head, and Kagome had a matching necklace. "Wasn't that taken the day before the attack?" She asked as she showed the picture to her father before handing it to Inu Yasha.

"Yeah. Your mother had taken it and developed it the night before."

"Didn't I give that necklace to you?" Inu Yasha asked Kagome as he pointed to the necklace he was wearing in the picture. Slowly Kagome nodded.

"I still have it. It's in my jewelry box back in the future. When I go back next, I'll get it."

"Kagome, that reminds me. Will you please give this to your mother next time you see her?" Tori handed her a black string necklace with a silver locket on it. "And tell her I still love her?"

"No." Kagome said while handing the necklace back to her father. "You're going to tell her. I'll bring her and Souta back here." Tori smiled at her before standing up.

"Thank you Kagome. I'm going to turn in for now." He went into his bedroom and fell into a light sleep. _'Kagome, tell him already. The poor boy has been in love with you since you were kids!'_

**End Chapter  
**I am so sorry! I've been having computer problems and major writer's block for a while. So, I'll try to update soon!

Kat-Lyn


	12. Chapter 12

"Inu Yasha," Kagome started when she was sure her father was asleep. "Do you still love Kikyo?" She asked timidly as she stared down at her hands.

"You can't still love somebody if you never loved them." He replied softly. Kagome's head snapped up and begged with her eyes to explain.

"Kikyo . . . She was a good friend. I think I thought that I was in love with her because she treated me half way decent, unlike most everyone else. But for the past few weeks, I haven't thought about Kikyo at all." He paused as he chose his words carefully. "I might have told the others I was worried about the Jewel when you were gone, but I couldn't stop thinking about you the entire time."

"Inu Yasha..." He stopped Kagome with a finger over her lips.

"Remember when I disappeared for a few hours after we defeated Naraku?" He watched Kagome nod. "I was searching for Kikyo. I had to tell her that I never loved her and that I never should have promised to stay with her. I had to tell her that I was in love with someone else." Kagome's eyes widened in shock. _'Oh god. Is he . . . '_ She was pulled out of her thoughts by Inu Yasha's face just inches from hers.

"Inu Yasha?"

* * *

"Good morning!" Mirouku said while yawning as he entered the main room. Everyone but Sango was already enjoying breakfast, courtesy of Tori. 

"Sleep well?" Tori asked as he handed Mirouku a plate of food. He just nodded and thanked him before eating. Kagome, having been the first one up, was already finished with her breakfast and was examining a two-foot bow that she held in her hands.

"How the crap did I get the arrows?" She mumbled quietly as she turned it over, looking for something. Tori tried to hide a laugh but failed. Kagome growled at him a bit. "Aren't you going to tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Sango asked as she entered the room.

"How she used that bow without any arrows on her when she was little." Inu Yasha said as Sango was handed a plate of food.

"I'm sorry, Kagome, but I don't know. You just aimed like you had an arrow ready to fire and one appeared. None of us could ever figure it out." Kagome's eye twitched as she held the bow in her left hand and pulled the string back as far as it would go. She aimed at the ceiling, but nothing happened. "Aren't you holding it wrong?"

"No."

"You used to hold it like this." He took the bow out of her hand. He held it so that the bow was parallel to the ground with the string over the top of his arm. He handed it back to her. She shrugged before she aimed at the ceiling the way her father had shown. And all of a sudden an arrow appeared. She blinked before slowly letting the tension on the string ease and she held the arrow above her head in triumph.

"Yes!" Suddenly, the arrow vanished. Everyone stared at her empty hand for a moment before laughing, some better than others at hiding it. She glared at everyone before glaring at the bow. "I hate you." She said in a low voice.

"Now now Kagome. Your arrows always disappeared right when we picked them up. Don't feel bad." Kagome then got a brilliant idea.

"I remember now!" She got an evil smile on her face as she aimed the bow at her father.

"Kagome?" Tori started to look nervous as a black arrow appeared, ready to fire. She then suddenly aimed it straight above her head and fired it. Right before it hit the roof of the hut, it burst into light pink sakura petals and floated down on everyone but they disappeared as soon as they hit anything. Tori smiled. "I should have known. That was your favorite trick."

"Kagome, when are we going to leave?" Sango asked Kagome quietly. The boys were outside "training." It sounded more like a bunch of kids playing tag with weapons. Sango and Kagome had stayed inside, Kagome insisting on making lunch.

"After lunch. We should be halfway to Keade's by nightfall if we're lucky."

"I know you don't want to leave after meeting your dad after so long. Why today?"

"I'm going to bring my mother and Souta back with me. Momma probably tried to get through the well every day after Tori sent us back. She'll be happy to see him." Kagome sighed. "I'm going to go check on the 'boys'." She said with a smile before exiting the hut.

The boys were actually playing a very strange spin on tag, but it was effective. They were all helping Shippou improve his aim with the kitsune-made slingshot of Tori's. He had a bunch of grass clumps and was firing the soft things at the others, who were providing moving targets for him. Kagome had walked out just in time to see Inu Yasha get hit in the side of the head with a few of the grass clumps, most of which contained small rocks.

"You've gotten better." Kagome said as she walked into the middle of Shippou's range. "I came to tell you that I and Sango have fixed lunch."

**End Chapter  
**Another one done! Ok,a few chapters down the line is a load of fluff. I'm trying to live up to the original plot of this story so, about 10 chapters will be full of fluff, but also lots of elements that tie the two main plots in with each other, and the start of the third(hopefully!).

Kat-Lyn


	13. Chapter 13

"Hey guys, we need to be leaving." Kagome said as everyone finished up their meal.

"Why so soon Kagome?" Kagome started to say something, but then she had a bright idea.

"Don't worry; we'll be coming back soon. I need to go visit Keade and bring Momma and Souta back here." Kagome stood up and smiled brightly. "Besides, I think there is a Jewel Shard near here, so we need to stick around in case a demon has it and attacks the village."

* * *

"Kagome, will you guys wait a minute?" Tori asked as the gang got ready to leave. "I want all of you to pick out something that has caught your eye." He held up his hand to silence the others before they started to decline. "You all have helped my daughter and kept her safe. Think of it as a thank you gift. Plus, most of this stuff is just collecting dust." Kagome decided to help and pushed Mirouku and Sango a little to get moving. Shippou waited a moment to see if anyone was going to pick something up, and when Mirouku picked up the staff he had secretly coveted, he thought it was ok and went to get the kitsune-made slingshot he adored. Sango had found a very well made dagger with a one foot blade. 

"Hey Kohaku, what's wrong?" Kagome asked as she saw the sad look on the boy's face.

"Um . . . I was wondering if I could stay here and help Tori protect this village. And possibly rebuild our village." He said quietly.

"I would love the help Kohaku. And I am sure some of the villagers would love to train to become slayers."

* * *

"Momma, I'm home!" Kagome called as she entered her house through the back, looking human. Inu Yasha followed her, and both of them were wearing the earrings that they had received. No one answered her call, so she went into the kitchen. Her mother was sitting at the table, her head in her hands. "Momma?" Her mother looked up at her suddenly. 

"Hello Kagome. I thought that you weren't coming back till next month." She stood up quickly and started to fix herself a cup of coffee.

"Well, something came up. Where's Souta and Grandpa?"

"They went to a carnival. They'll be back around midnight. Why?"

"No reason. We're going to head up to my room."

"Are you going to stay the night?"

"Yeah. We'll be down in a little bit!" Kagome said before pulling Inu Yasha out of the kitchen and up the stairs into her room. Kagome sighed while shutting her bedroom door and leaning against it. "I thought she would have noticed the earrings but I guess not."

"Aren't you going to tell her?" Kagome sat down on her bed and thought a few moments.

"No. I think I'll just drop some hints. Now, where did that necklace get to?" She started looking through the desk drawers, then through her jewelry boxes, then finally in her closet. She pulled down an old shoe box and looked through it. "Ah ha! Here it is." She pulled the dusty black ribbon out of the box. "I thought it wouldn't collect dust if it was in a box but I guess not." She sighed while wiping it on her pant leg(she's still in her fighting kimono, remember?) and putting it on after restoring its brilliant black sheen.

**End Chapter  
**Alright. Chapter 13.The next few chapterslead into the fluff promised last chapter. Since it's been a while since I've updated, I'm uploading three chapters tonight. Aren't I sweet?

Kat-Lyn


	14. Chapter 14

"'Night Momma." Souta said after stumbling by the kitchen where his mom, sister, and hero were sitting. It was almost midnight, and he had spent the last couple hours at the carnival. He then started to climb the stairs to his room, but he tripped on the first one and landed with a crash. Everyone ran out in the hallway to find a passed out Souta sleeping on the stairs. Both Kagome and her mother laughed a little before Kagome convinced Inu Yasha to take him to his room, with her showing him the way. Her grandpa was sitting in a chair at the table with her mother when they came back down.

"Hello Kagome." He said sleepily when he noticed his granddaughter at the door.

"Hey Grandpa. Did you have fun at the carnival?" She asked brightly as she sat across from her mother and started to mess with her earring.

"You could call it fun. He dragged me all over the place."

"Wish I could have went with you guys. When is the last day?"

"Tomorrow night. They're running a special. Two people for the price of one." He said before getting up. "I need some sleep. Goodnight!" He walked out the door.

"Would you like to take Inu Yasha tomorrow night? I have two extra tickets." Suko said while looking both Kagome and Inu Yasha over. _'Something's different about those two, but what?'_

"What's a carnival?" Inu Yasha asked before he could get trapped into something he really didn't want to do.

"It's this thing that comes by once or twice a year. It has all sorts of games, and rides, and shows and stuff. It's only here for about a week when it comes, and tomorrow is the last night. Wanna go?" Kagome asked him, almost begging with her eyes for him to say yes. His eye twitched as he studied her.

"Keh."

"I'll take that as a yes!" Kagome said brightly. "Follow me." She whispered so low only Inu Yasha heard her while she held her hand over her mouth, pretending to yawn. "I'm going to turn in too. 'Night Momma." She got up and left. Suko waited till she heard Kagome's door shut to speak again.

"Will you be staying tonight here or there?"

"Uh..." Inu Yasha tried to get out of anything that could lead to an embarassing conversation. Suko just smiled as Inu Yasha tried to make up his mind.

"If you want, you can stay here. Goodnight Inu Yasha." Suko left quickly. Inu Yasha sat stunned for a moment. _'What's with her? Does she know?'_ Inu Yasha waited a moment then headed up the stairs silently.

* * *

"Hey Sis! Wake up!" Souta yelled from outside of Kagome's bedroom. He had learned that you don't go into her room while she's asleep. She knows if you do. Both Suko and her dad were outside in the storage shed, moving around boxes to find something, and Inu Yasha was waiting _patiently_ outside of Kagome's room. Souta was extremely nerve-raking. 

"Could you watch it? Sensitive hearing!" Inu Yasha said as he winced at Souta's loud volume. At that moment, Kagome opened her door, which Inu Yasha was leaning against. Kagome stood glaring at her brother, hair neatly combed and in a new outfit. This time she is wearing black baggy cargo pants, black and silver combat boots, a tight so-dark-it's-almost-black blue shirt with long loose black sleeves that reach her fingertips, and a black newsboy cap.

"I've been up for a couple of hours." Kagome was glaring daggers at her little brother, who was terrified of the look in her blue-green eyes. She then walked down the stairs. Or tried, at least.

When Kagome opened her door, Inu Yasha had fallen backwards onto her pants leg, unnoticed by her. Well, Inu Yasha was in shock from her clothes, and hadn't sat back up when she decided to move. So when she lifted her leg to walk forward, her pants leg caught at just the right length to send her tumbling out over the landing and down the stairs.

She ended up at the bottom of the stairs, head on the last step, and blood running out of her head. Souta stood in shock at the top of the stairway, and as soon as Inu Yasha sat up, he saw Kagome laying unconsious downstairs with blood splatters on the stairs.

"Kagome!"

**End Chapter  
**Chapter 14. What more is there to say? Like the evil cliffie? Be glad that I'm updating with the next chapter tonight.

Kat-Lyn


	15. Chapter 15

"What happened?" Kagome slowly opened her eyes. She tried to sit up before a hand stopped her.

"Are you ok?" She heard Inu Yasha ask from beside her.

"Other than the massive headache, yeah. Did someone give me to many sleeping pills?" She tried to sit up again, this time holding her head.

"No... You tripped and fell down the stairs." He helped her sit up this time. She froze when she felt the back of her head covered in a sticky substance. She pulled her hand around so she could look at it. Her hand was covered in her blood.

"I fell down the stairs? But..." Kagome looked around the hallway and at her clothes. "...how?"(Memory loss? Maybe.)

* * *

"Alright, if we're going to the carnival, you need to dress for the occasion." Kagome said before pulling Inu Yasha out of the kitchen as soon as he finished his lunch. It was a little after noon. Kagome didn't loose her memory from falling down the stairs, and, after convincing Souta not to tell, they decided not to mention it to her mom or Grandpa because that would reveal that she met her dad before her mom got the chance to figure it out on her own.

"Ok. How's going to **your** room going to help?" Inu Yasha asked as they climbed the stairs up to her bedroom.

"It's been a while since you've seen my closet, ain't it? Well, I get all my clothes at some of the coolest places around. Most of them are imports from America." She said before pushing Inu Yasha to sit down on her bed while she looked through the dark closet. After a few moments, she pulled out a few pairs of cargo pants. All of them are black, though they range from plain with just the pockets at the knees to plain with black straps, to fancier with metal chains, and last, a elaborate pair with black straps and glow-in-the-dark pieces everywhere. She held them up, two at a time, and showed them to Inu Yasha. "Which do you like?"

"Uh...those," He pointed to the plain pair. "And those two." He pointed at the pair with metal chains and the glow-in-the-dark pair. Kagome nodded and put up the other pairs. She then looked at the back of the closet and pulled out a few shirts. One was a loose dark dark red plain t-shirt, another was a black guy's muscle shirt, yet another was a black loose t-shirt, and finally a lighter-than-blood-red-but-still-dark red semi-tight t-shirt with a black design on the front. "Why do you have guy's clothes again?"

"Well, I don't actually wear many of these. My friends bought them as jokes for my birthday. So, which do you like?"

"The red one." Kagome's eye twitched.

"There are two red ones."

"The dark red one."

"They're both dark red."

"The darkest one then!"

"Ok, you should have said so!" Kagome's mood went from about-to-explode mad to peppy happy in a few seconds. "Alright then. So, go try these on in there while I search for something." Kagome pointed to the little bathroom that is inside her room. It was barely big enough to walk in, but it served it's purpose. Kagome started to dig through the mess in the bottom of her closet. Inu Yasha walked out of the bathroom in the shirt and the plain cargos.

"Ah ha!"

**End Chapter**  
End of my three-in-one-night update. Like the spat between the two? I thought it was cute. So begins the fluff!

Kat-Lyn


	16. Chapter 16

"Ah ha! I found it!" Kagome's muffled voice came from under a pile of old clothes. Inu Yasha sniggered as he laid his firerat fur kimono on the floor next to Kagome's bed. He watched in amusement as Kagome struggled out of the clothes, a big box in hand.

"What'd you find?" He asked her as she gently placed the box on the floor behind her and piled the clothes back into the bottom of the closet.

"I've been saving it for a while and it will complete your outfit." She said after looking him over. "And it'll hide Tetsusaiga from sight that way you can take it with you." She lifted the cover off the box to reveal a...black squishy thing? It took up all of the space in the box and looked like it was liquid.

"This I had made by a specialist." She picked the black thing up and stood up with it.

* * *

"Will you be still?" Kagome asked through gritted teeth. She was brushing Inu Yasha's hair, and had almost succeeded in pulling it up when he twitched and it fell. 

"Sorry! I'm not used to having to sit still for so long!" Inu Yasha was sitting grumpily in a chair as Kagome tried to pull his hair up into a ponytail on top of his head. She then had an idea.

"This better work." She muttered to herself as she searched her desk for something. "Hehe." She picked up a rubber band. She then went back to brushing Inu Yasha's hair.

Finally, after several tries, Kagome got the rubber band around Inu Yasha's hair. She then picked up a blood red ribbon and wrapped it around the rubber band and over several inches of the ponytail, bringing it up higher. She tied it and hid the ends before combing out his bangs and forlocks.

"Done!"

* * *

"Hey Kagome!" Eri yelled out to her friend as she spotted her and a strange guy walking into the carnival together. "Wait up!" She motioned for the two girls following her, Yuka and Ayumi, to hurry up and get their tickets. Kagome stopped and turned around and waited on the trio. 

"Hey Eri, Yuka, Ayumi. Didn't think I'd see you here." She sounded nervous as she greeted her longtime friends.

"Hey Kagome. Who's he?" Yuka asked as she checked out the strange guy Kagome was with. He had long black hair up in a high ponytail secured with a bloodred ribbon, strange violet eyes, black baggy cargo pants, a dark red t-shirt, black combat boots, and a to-the-ground plain black trenchcoat. He also had a gold chain for a belt, black fingerless gloves, longer-than-normal black fingernails, a few gold hoops in his ears, a golden chain earring in the top of his left ear, black lips, and a bloodred ribbon chocker with a gold dog sewed onto it.

"This is Inu Yasha, my friend from France. He doesn't know much Japanese, either." She then whispered so low only Inu Yasha could hear. "Play along. Don't say a word."

"Inu Yasha? Wasn't that the name of the jealous, two-timing..."

"Idiotic, insensitive..."

"Maniac jerk guy?" The three questioned.

"No! Nonononono! He's not like that anymore!" Kagome then turned to Inu Yasha. "We need to be going. Maybe we'll catch up later!" Kagome then grabbed Inu Yasha by the hand and pulled him off fast, leaving three stunned girls.

**End Chapter**  
Hehehe. The start of the fluff. Don't you just love my sense of style and Kagome's friends? Next chapter: more fluff! Hope ya enjoyed!

Kat-Lyn


	17. Chapter 17

"What was that about?" Inu Yasha asked as soon as they were out of the girls hearing and sight. Kagome sighed.

"Every time I told them about you it was when I was mad and it was right after we started on our journey. But let's save that until later. Come on, I want to ride something!" Kagome smiled as she pulled Inu Yasha towards some random ride.

* * *

A few hours, many rides, three bags of cotton candy, two candied apples, and a few sodas later, our punk-looking couple started to walk down where all the game booths were setup. 

"Knock the bottles down and pick a prize. You there," the guy running the stand pointed at Inu Yasha from where he was inside the booth. "How about winning that lovely young lady a prize?" The guy smirked while the two spoke quietly to one another.

"Any prize I want?" Kagome asked the guy as she pulled out her change.

"I don't do trade-ups. So how 'bout it?" He asked while offering the old softball to Inu Yasha. He just grinned while taking the ball. As Kagome paid the man, Inu Yasha took aim at the three milk jugs stacked on the small table. He looked over to Kagome, who nodded.

"I want that one!" Kagome said while pointing out a foot tall stuffed white dog plush. The man that worked at the booth stared. _'He shattered them! I glued those things together and to the table yesterday!'_ He glared at Inu Yasha before handing Kagome the plush. She handed him enough for another ball. "My turn!" She said peppily as both Inu Yasha and the man at the booth stared at her. He smiled before handing over another ball.

'She'll never do it.' He thought as Kagome took aim at another stack of milk jugs.

"You can pick out a prize Inu Yasha." Kagome said as the guy at the booth almost fainted. _'Those were super glued!'_ Inu Yasha just shrugged.

"Doesn't matter to me."

* * *

As it was closing in on eleven o' clock, Kagome decided it was about time to head home after one last ride. They waited in line for the Ferris wheel with a bunch of little kids. After a while, they got up to the operator person. Kagome leaned over and whispered something in his ear that Inu Yasha couldn't hear. He just smiled, nodded, and opened a seat for the two. 

"The fireworks show starts in one minute." A voice said over the speaker system in the park. Currently, Inu Yasha and Kagome were about half way up on the backside of the Ferris wheel, stalled while other kids got off and on.

"Fireworks show?" Inu Yasha questioned Kagome.

"They're harmless and they're pretty. That's all you need to know." Kagome said mysteriously as Inu Yasha wondered what the crap she was talking about. They were stalled again at two o' clock if it were a clock. They were at the top of the Ferris wheel when the announcer guy said that the fireworks show was going to start.

The first firework was a lone silver streak in the sky. It burst into a huge silver pinwheel after it traveled so far. As soon as it started to fade, five more in red were sent up, followed by whistling ones.

Kagome and Inu Yasha watched the display for a few minutes before Kagome glanced at Inu Yasha. She smiled at the sight on his face; a look of shock, amusement and childish joy. She sighed a little, leaned her head on his shoulder, and watched the show with him.

He felt Kagome lean against his shoulder and look at him. He tore his eyes away from the fireworks show to look down at Kagome. She was smiling sweetly while watching the show. He looked back at the show, and slowly snuck his hand around her waist. She moved closer to him, and brought her hand around his neck. They stayed like that until they were nearing the bottom.

**End Chapter**  
Awww... Look at all the fluff! I like the fluff, don't you? Now, to make up to anyone who doesn't like the fluff, a huge twist is thrown into the two hanyous relationship. Then more fluff! You all are going to hate me for the next couple of chapters. Trust me.

Oh, and before I forget. **Thank you all who reviewed!** That's the most I can say here because of the new stupid rules. This chapter is for you!

Kat-Lyn


	18. Chapter 18

Kagome and Inu Yasha were walking on the sidewalk away from the carnival. She had her arms wrapped around his waist, and he was doing the same thing, both lost in thought as Kagome unconsciously lead them home.

Kagome was day dreaming about how when they got back to the shrine that he would stop her under the Goshinboku, and they'd talk. Later, much later, he would propose, then they'd get married under that ancient tree, then after that, they'd have kids.

Inu Yasha was thinking about what she expected him to do once they got back to her house. _'Who do you talk to about things like this?'_ Inu Yasha asked himself after coming up with nothing. Kagome was thinking about her day dreamed future together when Kagome felt a strange, yet familiar aura approach her.

* * *

"When's Kagome coming back?" Shippou asked Mirouku for what had to be the hundredth time in three days. Mirouku just sighed. 

"When she gets ready. There's nothing to worry about Shippou. With Inu Yasha there, they won't have to worry about much getting the best of them." Shippou thought for a moment before standing up and walking to the door of Keade's hut.

"Ok. I'm going to go wait on them."

* * *

As soon as he entered the Bone Eater's Well's clearing, he knew something was wrong. All at once it felt like all of the birds stopped singing, the wind stopped blowing, even the clouds were standing still. 

And there was Kagome, sitting with her back to him and the village, in clothes obviously from her time. She was just sitting there, staring at the well, Inu Yasha no where to be seen. He took a few timid steps toward her.

"Kagome?" She responded with a tiny jerk, like she hadn't noticed Shippou before and he had scared her. "What's wrong?"

"It closed." Shippou barely heard her.

"What?"

"The well. It closed. With Inu Yasha on the other side."

**End Chapter**  
I am evil! I told you the fluff would have to be equaled out with something bad! Now now, don't kill me yet, you won't get the rest of the story if you do! I'll make sure to update in three days. Hear that? **3** days. Can you wait that long? (I might update quicker if you can convince me!)

Kat-Lyn


	19. Chapter 19

"The well. It closed. With Inu Yasha on the other side." Kagome said quietly. Shippou didn't even pretend like he didn't know what she was talking about, he just stood in shock. "I don't know why. We were both coming back last night. We'd made it about halfway when everything went black and something suddenly started to pull me to this time and him away, back to the future. Shippou, please go get Sango for me. Just Sango." She asked him quietly. He nodded once before running back to the village. He realized something as he neared the village, Kagome hadn't been crying. She didn't even sound upset when she was speaking. Finally, he reached Keade's hut. He burst in, scaring Keade, Mirouku, and Kirara half to death.

"What's the matter Shippou?" Mirouku asked out of concern as Shippou tried to breathe while scanning the hut.

"Whe . . . Where's Sango?" He managed to gasp out.

"She's gathering some firewood for us. Wasn't that what you were doing?" Shippou slowed his breathing down to normal as he tried to think about what had just happened.

"No. I had just went for a walk. Did Sango head out to the well?"

"I think so. Why?" Mirouku asked as Shippou practically flew out the door and back to the well. Rather, that's where he was going. He ran straight into something very similar to a rock.

"Hehe, sorry Shippou. But you really shouldn't come running out of doors like that."

* * *

"So Tori, what are you doing this far north?" Mirouku asked after explaining whom Tori was to Keade. 

"I don't know really. I just had a feeling that something was wrong up North and I was lead here." Tori sat in deep thought while staring at the small fire pit in the center of the hut. They sat in silence for a moment before something, no, some**one** fell through Keade's door and crumpled into a heap on the floor, crying her eyes out.

"Kagome!"

* * *

After a few hours of nothing but uncontrolled crying from Kagome, the gang managed to find out that Kagome couldn't get through the well to the future, and Inu Yasha was either in her time or lost in the time stream between them. Kagome was now in Inu Yasha's normal corner of Keade's hut, softly sobbing. At one point in the day, Kagome sounded so lost when she told them that Inu Yasha might not be coming back that Tori had leave the village for a while. 

Near dark, Kagome was sleeping fitfully, sometimes jerking wide awake then falling back to sleep.

"What's going to happen now? Kagome can't stay like this. It's depressing." Sango whispered quietly to Mirouku and Tori.

"She has to get over it herself. I was in the same position and I know how it feels, but she can't give up hope. I didn't after I realized that even if the well doesn't open back up for me that I'll see Suko again, 500 years from now."

* * *

After two days of Kagome laying in Inu Yasha's corner doing nothing, not even eating, the gang had had enough. Tori was leaving the next day; he trusted Kohaku and the in-training slayers to protect the village, but he had told them he'd be back in less than a week, he needed to go back before Kohaku or any of the others came looking for him. 

"Kagome, please. You need to eat!" Sango tried to get the girl to eat, but she had turned her back to her. Suddenly, a transparent blue-purple bubble surrounded Kagome and the corner. Sango blinked twice before reaching out to Kagome, only to have her hand deflected by the bubble barrier. Tori just sighed.

"Do you think Inu Yasha would want you to starve yourself over him?" He asked Kagome. After a second the barrier wavered and fell. Kagome sat up and took the food Sango had in her hands before standing up and leaving the hut and presumably headed to either the Well or the Goshinboku.

"Either Kagome has suddenly become as stubborn as Inu Yasha, or he's been rubbing off on her."

"Must be from the time she spent in the future because she never was this way about anything when she was little."

**End Chapter  
**Aww...Thanks for all the reviews you guys! I'm so touched I'm updating early(is this early? FFDotNet has it all messed up. A review from the 2nd on a chapter I didn't update until the 3rd! I'm so confused!). Next chapter, Kagome visits that mean old well! Any guesses as to why the well suddenly sealed shut? Remember that Kagome's a very emotional girl. ;P Go ahead and guess! Next update: 3 days!

Kat-Lyn


	20. Chapter 20

"Stupid well. Please let Inu Yasha through!" Kagome begged as she sat in front of the well looking down into it. After nothing happened to the well, she turned around and leaned against the well and looked at the sky. "Why did you pull us apart? Why send me to this time and Inu Yasha to the future? Are you doing this to us to punish us?" Kagome asked quietly.

_'What happened while we were traveling through time to cause us to be separated? ...Is it because I doubted myself? Or maybe Inu Yasha?'_ It then dawned on Kagome. _'It's because I thought about the possibility that Inu Yasha doesn't love me. I didn't believe in him, that's why!'_ Kagome stood up slowly and turned to face the well.

"I'm sorry for ever doubting you, Inu Yasha. You've always loved me, looking back on everything. Please, Well, let me go to the one I love!" Kagome whispered before jumping straight down into the well and collapsing on the bottom in tears.

* * *

"Why won't you let me through?" Inu Yasha asked as he sat staring at the well in the future. "Everything was going perfect 'till you had to seal me in this time. Why with me here though?" Inu Yasha just sighed before turning his back on the well and trying to think about why he was in the future. After a few minutes though, he thought he heard something. 

"...You've always loved me, looking back on everything. Please, Well, let me go to the one I love!" Someone said faintly before a light purple light surrounded the well and he heard someone crying at the bottom of the well. After a few seconds to get over his shock, Inu Yasha turned and looked down into the well, where he saw Kagome at the bottom curled into a ball crying her eyes out.

"Ka . . . Kagome?" Inu Yasha asked in disbelief. In an instant, Kagome's head snapped up to look at him.

"Inu Yasha!"

* * *

"Hey Momma!" Kagome said brightly to her mother after entering the kitchen hand-in-hand with Inu Yasha. Suko was washing the dishes from lunch. "Where's Grandpa and Souta?" 

"Souta's at a friends and Grandpa went with him. Why?" Suko asked as she turned to look at the couple who were now sitting down at the table. Inu Yasha was now massaging his left ear with his hand and had already taken out his earring and placed it on the table in front of him. Kagome was gently giggling at him as he glared back at her. It suddenly hit Suko as she stared at Inu Yasha's earring.

"Where'd you get that earring from Inu Yasha?"

"Tori."

**End Chapter**  
Yay! Back together again! Don't you just love me? Well, it was my fault they were seperated in the first place, but oh well. Next chapter: Suko and Tori reunited! I'll update soon!

Kat-Lyn


	21. Chapter 21

"Tori?" Suko asked quietly as she sat down slowly. She looked at Kagome and finally noticed her blue-green-gold eyes, earrings, pointed ears, and claws. _'The eighteenth year. How could I have forgotten.'_

"Mom? Are you ok?" Kagome asked as her mother looked on the edge of passing out.

"I'm sorry for not telling you sooner. I should have since you were constantly traveling back there. So, he's filled you in on everything, right?" Suko asked after a few minutes.

"Yeah. I just don't know exactly what happened in this time after the well sealed. He wanted me to give you something, and tell you um... something. I forgot." Kagome said casually. "So, I guess he's just gonna have to tell you himself." Kagome finished. "When do you want to leave?"

---

"Kagome, are you sure this is going to work?" Suko asked as she looked down into the well. She had changed into an old outfit that suited the feudal era more. She had on an outfit similar to Kagome and Tori's, although her's was all black with the peice of material over the pants and top white and at the back it went to her thighs and cut off at her knees in the front and had a rose stiched in black on the front with the symbol for peace on the back, also in black. The belt was black and, unlike Kagome's and Tori's, it tied at the back and had very small tails. She had found her old weapons, two short daggers that were currently in her belt on both hips, in a box in the shed.

"Come on Mom, don't doubt it! You ready?" Kagome asked as Inu Yasha went ahead through the well. "We don't want to keep Inu Yasha waiting." Kagome said before pulling her mother into the well with her.

---

"It hasn't changed at all." Suko said after exiting the well. "So where does he live now anyways?"

"A tiny little town near the ocean. But, I don't think we'll have to travel anywhere." Kagome said as she motioned behind her mother. Suko turned around slowly to see Tori leaning against a surrounding tree.

---

"So, what are you going to do now?" Sango asked after everything had been explained. The gang, Keade, and Kagome's parents were sitting around the fire in Keade's hut.

_'Me and Momma are both split between times.We both fit in with this world better, and the men we love are in this time. But she can't forget about Souta and Grandpa. Wait, that reminds me...'_ Kagome thought before voicing her opinion. "Hey Mom, aren't Souta and Grandpa going to worry when they find out that we're both gone?"

"I left a note so they won't worry."

(View switches to the future, on a peice of paper on the Higurashi kitchen table)

_Dear Dad & Souta, _

Sorry I couldn't say goodbye in person, but I left on short notice. I don't know how long I'll be gone, but both of you better behave and not mess up my house. Stay in school, Souta, and eat a good dinner everynight. I've gone back to him, Dad, and I haven't told Souta. You can tell him, I think he'll take it well, unlike **somebody** I know. Oh, who am I kidding? You aren't going to tell him. My house better not be a wreck when I get back, or else. Take a bath everyday and put on clean clothes too.

Love,

Mom

(View switches back to the past, Keade's hut)

After a few seconds, everyone was surprised when Kagome suddenly sprang to her feet, growling.

"He never gives up!" Kagome muttered before heading out of the door. Everyone just shrugged at one another before following her, except for Keade, who muttered something before turning to her freshly gathered herbs that she needed to make into healing creams and stuff.

As soon as Kagome walked out of Keade's hut, her disguise was on. The others followed her out of the village to a nearby clearing. Mirouku, Sango, and Shippou would have followed Kagome and Inu Yasha to the center of the clearing, but Tori held them back.

"I just want to see how those two handle this problem." Tori said mysteriously as he pulled the others into the treeline before proceeding to spy on the two in the clearing through the bushes.

Before long, Kouga entered the clearing. He immediatly noticed a _slightly_ ticked Kagome standing next to a calm Inu Yasha.

"Hello Kagome!" He said while closing the gap between him and Kagome.

"What do you want?" Kagome asked while sending a look that could make Sesshoumaru think twice about coming any closer.

"I came to find you. My pack has found the ideal location for a new den, far away from here. I came to ask if you'd like to come back with me." Kouga said slowly while remembering exactly what that human lady said.

_'Is he asking me, what I think he's asking me? Even after what I told him? He's insane.'_

"Kouga..." Kagome started to say. She was suddenly interrupted by a high-pitched female voice that rang across the clearing.

"Why you disrespectful little low-class youkai! How dare you!" A blue-green-yellow blur shot through the clearing before anyone could react and it headed straight for Kagome. It stopped right before it got to Kagome and hovered between her and Kouga. Now that she had stopped moving, everyone could plainly see a foot and a half tall person. She is wearing a one-shoulder golden-yellow top with a knee-length black skirt and black knee-high boots. Most of her elbow length black hair is pulled back into a low ponytail at her neck, while the rest, her eyebrow length medium brown bangs and shoulder length forlocks, are hanging loose. Her eyes are a golden orange color and her claws and fangs are tipped with gold. Her two foot, blue-green dragon wings, also tipped in gold, are currently supporting her as she glares down Kouga.

"I should kill you and your entire pack for saying that. But, unfourtunatly, that lucky privalage isn't mine." She then turned around to face Kagome and Inu Yasha. "Forgive me, my Lady, for not announcing my presence earlier, but I was very curious as to why this," she paused as she looked over at Kouga, who was currently staring at the new arrival, "_wolf_ dared to trespass on your father's lands and as to why you greeted him in your human form." At that moment, Tori decided to appear.

"Hey Kaida. Long time, no see."

**End Chapter  
**I'm sorry! I'm really sorry it took this long for me to update, but I got writer's block halfway through. So, I've put together two chapter for you! I'll update soon, I swear! Later!

Kat-Lyn


	22. Chapter 22

"Hey Kaida. Long time, no see." Tori said as he walked up to the dragon-girl. She immediately had a look of amazement and fear on her face.

"M...M..." She stuttered as she tried to find the right words. Tori just slightly shook his head no and turned his attention to the three in the clearing.

"Kagome, can you make him leave? Before I actually have to make him?" Tori asked quietly. Kagome nodded yes before turning to Kouga.

"Kouga, come back in two months and I'll give you my answer, ok? But not before then!"

"I'll be back in two months then." Kouga said before running off to the North. Kagome sighed in relief of him leaving so soon then let her disguise spell fall.

"Now that that's taken care of," Kagome said before turning to the stunned dragon girl who was slowly falling to the ground as her wings beat less and less. "Who are you? You seem familiar, but... I can't think of why." Kaida quickly regained her composure at hearing this and turned and faced Kagome.

"Understandable, my Lady. It has been well over two-hundred years since we've last met. But if an introduction is necessary, very well. I am Kaida, of the winged dragon clan, and, until you disappeared, your retainer."

---

"Ok, so you are the ruler of the Southern Lands. And Kaida here is," Mirouku was interrupted by said dragon.

"Was, but hopefully still is."

"Is, was, whatever. Your Tori's retainer and he told you to protect and watch over Kagome."

"Exactly. But my question is why your back Kaida. I was going to send for you after Kagome told her friends." Tori explained. They were all still in the forest, but at the well now.

"Of course. I was mearly coming to check on the well like I have been doing every few years, and I noticed that..." She paused as she tried to calm herself down. "wolf talking to my Lady Kagome and Lord Inu Yasha and _implying_ that he was going to take Lady Kagome away. Of course, seeing how Lady Kagome and L..." Kaida was cut off right then by both Kagome and Inu Yasha jumping up and start raving on how they needed to start hunting for the last few Shards right then. Somehow, they actually convinced them and those that were in the clearing set off for the small southern town that Tori now lived in.

---

"So Kaida, what were you going to say before Inu Yasha and Kagome interrupted us back at the well?" Sango questioned the dragon as she flew around the clearing they were staying at for the night. It had been slow going since they left Keade's. Suko had insisted that they take their time in going back, she wanted to see how much the country had changed since she had been gone and she wanted more time to catch up with Tori. So, they walked at a gentle pace.

"As much as I think that you all have the right to know, I must insist on Lady Kagome and Lord Inu Yasha telling you themselves. And plus, they both forbid me to tell you."

**End Chapter**  
Yay! I updated! More plot twists! I'll update soon!

**Important!** Kagome is **NOT** Kikyou's reincarnation! Thanks go to modernmiroku who reminded me to mention that. All will be explained!

Kat-Lyn


	23. Chapter 23

Peaceful times soon found our beloved group. For months nothing really happened. Kagome received some of the best training from Tori, Suko, Inu Yasha, Sango, Mirouku, and Keade. Kohaku trained Tori's villagers, and soon they were out exterminating evil demons throughout the Southern lands. Sango left for a month or so to help her brother with the village, but soon she returned. Suko stayed with Tori, with both her and Kagome thinking up a plan about how their disappearance will be covered up. Mirouku also left Keade's village around the same time Sango did, telling the gang he was going to go visit Mushin, the monk who cared for him after his father died from Naraku's curse. He showed up again a week after Sango.

The gang searched for the last shard, but it was no where to be found. Myouga showed up soon after the original gang plus Kaida returned to Keade's village after spending time in Tori's. He hadn't heard anything about the shards, at all. No demons even mentioned it.

When the third month, November, was drawing to a close, Kagome started to get a bad feeling. The weather held out until the end of October. It then started to become increasingly worse. By the middle of November, sudden lightning storms had wiped out a few homes in both villages three different times. Around this time, Myouga showed up with some new information on the last Jewel Shard. He had heard from a "reliable" source that a new demon had started to gain power throughout the Northern lands and the Northern part of the Eastern lands. Rumor was that he had the last tainted shard in his possession. It was then that Kagome made her decision.

She split the Shikon into several pieces, keeping one herself and giving one each to Inu Yasha, Tori, Suko, Sango, Mirouku, Kouga, and Sesshoumaru. During the months of peace, Inu Yasha and Sesshoumaru relatively stopped fighting with each other. Kagome talked to Kouga, and after a few fights between him and Inu Yasha, he stopped trying to take Kagome away. She eventually told Kouga about her being a half demon, though he did not take it very well.

At the beginning of December, the gang was spending time in Keade's village. During a sudden storm, a house was destroyed. Most of the villagers helped build it back for the family, which didn't take long considering they had two half demons, a demon slayer, and a monk helping. It was nearing dark on a full moon night, and Kagome was starting to get jumpy. At the slightest noise, she'd have her hand on a small dagger hidden in her sleeve.

"Kagome, what's making you so jumpy?" Inu Yasha asked after the fifth time this had happened. They were all sitting in Keade's hut, with Sango and Keade fixing supper, Mirouku near them polishing the staff he got from Tori, Shippo near the fire practicing sustaining his illusions (right now he was impersonating Kirara), Kirara watching Shippou, and Kagome sitting near Inu Yasha, who was in his corner.

"I don't know but I have a really bad feeling. I can't really explain it, but something big's going to happen, soon." Kagome told Inu Yasha quietly.  
"Relax Kagome. Nothing has happened in months."

"That's what worries me. Could you go scout around the village really quick? You and Mirouku?" Kagome asked him quietly. He was about to object when he saw the look on Kagome's face. It wasn't that she was pleading with him, it was a look he was all too familiar with. Her eyes were looking at him as if he was her last hope. The same look of a scared, lost, and lonely child as a kind person says they are going to find their parents. The same look he had right before his mother died. He hesitated a moment.

"Yeah." He stood up and grabbed the monk by his sleeve. "You're coming with me." He pulled the startled pervert out of the hut and into the fast-fading sunlight. "Kagome wants us to check around the village for anything suspicious. I'll check on the outside of the village and the nearest of the forest and you check inside the village. Ok?" Inu Yasha stood in his typical pose while glaring at the monk.

"Yeah. So, what is going on between you and Lady Kagome?" Mirouku asked before the hanyou jumped off.

"None of your business so stop asking!" Mirouku and Sango had both been trying to get out of Inu Yasha and Kagome what exactly was going on between the two, because they were hardly ever out of each other's sight and were always sending sly glances at each other.

Inu Yasha had just finished searching the very start of his forest and was on his way back when he sensed something was really out of place. At first, he didn't know what it was and ignored it. He headed back to the village constantly on alert as the feeling grew until he realized what it was.

Boy, was Kagome right.

---

**End Chapter  
**So sorry about the wait, but I've had a god-aweful case of writer's block and too much homework in too little time. I'll try to get the next chapter out soon, and I swear I'm not holding out for reviews, although they are nice.

Shadow-Kat


	24. Chapter 24

"So Kagome, what's been going on these last few months?" Sango asked cautiously as she noticed the worried look on Kagome's face.

"I don't know Sango. What's been going on?" Kagome asked distractedly as she constantly watched the door, waiting not so patiently. Sango cast a worried glance up from her cooking before turning back to it. Kagome was too focused on Inu Yasha to be really paying attention to Sango.

_'Please hurry. Something's wrong. Whatever happens will be terrible.'_ Kagome thought right before the sun set. As it set, great storm cloud rolled over the village. One lone streak of lightning lit up the entire area like it was noon on a crystal clear day. That moment, Kagome lost most of her demonic powers and her miko senses kicked into overdrive.

She quickly turned to the back of the hut, where a strange man stood, dressed in all black. He smirked at her. Kagome started to say something to Sango, but before she could move, the man flicked something straight at her neck. It pierced her neck and an unknown poison was released. Kagome slowly removed the object to find that it was a hollow needle. She had only enough time to register that someone was saying something to her before everything became black.

---

As Inu Yasha raced along the rooftop of the village, he noticed it getting darker faster than it should. _'Crap. Another storm. It's going to be a big one too. Mirouku better hurry back.'_ Inu Yasha thought as Keade's hut came into his view. Sango was standing worriedly out front and searching the rooftops for him. As soon as she spotted him, she motioned for him to hurry up. He quickly leapt over the remaining huts and landed next to Sango.

"What's wrong?" He asked as he crossed his arms in his usual fashion.

"Kagome was poisoned by a demon that snuck into the hut when you were gone." Sango said this very quickly while blocking the door.

"Is she ok?" Inu Yasha looked at Sango then at the door and almost pushed her out of the way to get inside the hut but Sango's next words stopped him.

"She's going to be fine. But the poison reacted with her miko powers and now she's putting off way too much for it to be safe for any demon to enter. Shippou and Kirara are out looking for Mirouku right now."

"And what about her demon side?" Inu Yasha asked after a moment.

"She's in her full human form. Her demonic powers disappeared as soon as the poison entered her blood stream." Sango looked at Inu Yasha carefully. He was staring up at the sky, as if asking some heavenly entity for help. Sango didn't miss the sad, lonely, hopeless look in his eyes. _'He really loves her and she loves him back just as much, but will they ever realize it?'_ Sango questioned herself before speaking.

"I'll go check on her and help Keade a little. I'll be back out as soon as I can." She spoke softly, but she was sure he heard every word. She gave him one more glance before turning and going inside the hut.

---

_"...Inu Yasha . . . Why are you still toying with that girl?" Kagome heard the faint voice say. She instantly recognized the voice. She was in the middle of Inu Yasha's forest, standing not too far away from the Goshinboku. She looked around trying to figure out why she was there._

'Why am I here? How did I get here? And why am I human?' _Kagome thought as she noticed that her senses were weaker, her nails shorter, and her tail missing. She looked through the trees at the God Tree and saw something that made her want to run and go kill the woman at the same time._

_There was Inu Yasha, kissing Kikyou right on the lips. Kagome stood rooted to the spot, knowing that Inu Yasha, _**her**_ Inu Yasha, would never do that. As she watched the two they soon broke apart and Inu Yasha started talking._

_"Kikyou, we have to put up with that little girl until she finds all the Shards for us. Since you fell and lost your power to do so, she's the only one who can." Inu Yasha said before hugging the dead miko. Kagome watched silently with tears in her eyes._

_"I love you Inu Yasha." Kikyou smirked at Kagome._

_"I love you too, Kikyou, and I always will."_

_"She's watching us. Why don't we just take the Jewel from her now? There are only a few Shards left, and I still have enough power to locate them. Get rid of her." Kikyou said quietly. Inu Yasha looked at Kikyou and nodded before turning to where Kagome was. She just stood there as Inu Yasha approached her, extending his claws and smiling sinisterly._

_"No . . . "_

---

It is almost sunset, more than two weeks after Kagome's poisoning. Inu Yasha is currently pacing in front of Keade's hut. Although after the first week Kagome's miko powers had reduced to only a foot around her, Keade didn't want Inu Yasha in there, afraid that he would purify himself by trying to get to close to her.

So, Inu Yasha had spent the last two weeks without even a glimpse of Kagome while everyone but Shippou and Kirara tended to her. Let's just say that_ 'he's ticked'_ is the understatement of the year.

Tonight is a new moon, and Keade has finally agreed to let Inu Yasha in to see Kagome. All in the gang were convinced as soon as Kagome was better that Inu Yasha would confess his love for her. But little do they know that they already have...

After Inu Yasha had turned full human, Sango let him in the hut. He walked slowly over to where Kagome was, and noticed that she looked almost human. After the first week her tail had reappeared and her claws were back. He glared at everyone in the room, as they were currently watching him while pretending not to. They turned back to what they were doing. He sat down beside Kagome, with his back to everyone. His gaze softened as he watched Kagome. After a few minutes, Kagome moved a little toward him and whispered his name so softly he wasn't really sure she did.

_'Dang my human night!'_ Inu Yasha thought in irony. He gently picked up Kagome's hand and held it with his clasped around hers, worry written across his face in big bold letters (not literally folks).

_'I shouldn't have left you here by yourself. I was so worried about you and you were so jumpy that whoever it was slipped past. Please get better, Kagome. Your too strong to be beaten like this!'_ Inu Yasha thought.

---

_"No..." Kagome said as Inu Yasha was about to slice her in half. She finally regained her ability to move, and she ran right up to Inu Yasha and hugged him. "This isn't real. None of it. You admitted that you were never in love with Kikyou and only that she reminded you of me! You said you loved me and would never leave me. That you'd always protect me. And I promised back that I would never let you leave. That I would always be there for you and that I love you!" The area around her faded into nothing, including the Inu Yasha she was holding. She let go and he disappeared after speaking to her._

_"I knew you wouldn't believe this." With that, Kagome was alone. She sat down on what she assumed to be the floor and tried to think._

_"What's going on here? Where am I?" She asked herself quietly. Nothing happened. "Where are you Inu Yasha?"_

_At that moment, she felt a hand on hers, although she couldn't see one. Then suddenly, something happened. _

**End Chapter  
**I like this chapter. I really do. It's one of my best. Sorry about the wait, it's been almost impossible for me to upload this. I'll update again soon!

Kat-Lyn


	25. Chapter 25

_At that moment, she felt a hand on hers, although she couldn't see one. Then suddenly, something happened. Kagome felt her demon powers surge throughout her entire body, then her miko powers overpowering them. She could feel her entire body start to purify. And she smiled._

---

Inu Yasha was watching Kagome with concern. She had looked like she was getting better; her demonic powers had returned, her traits were visible, and her miko powers stopped radiating from her, allowing Inu Yasha to sit near her. He was currently sitting near her head, not caring a bit if any of the others were watching him or not. In the past few days, it seemed that the poison was affecting more than her miko powers; her breathing was ragged and shallow, and she kept fitfully turning. Mirouku, Shippou, and Kirara had went to get Suko and Tori, hoping that maybe one of them could identify the poison. So far, they hadn't shown up.

Inu Yasha was starting to have that sinking feeling that he usually got when something bad was going to happen. It had happened right before Kagome's family was attacked, before his mother died, and before Kikyou "betrayed" him. He hoped that it wasn't one of those times.

Suddenly, Kagome's body started putting off a huge amount of miko powers, but only around her. Her miko powers started to purify her, but since she was part human, nothing happened to her body besides her demonic traits disentigrating slowly. Before anyone could react, Kagome screamed in pain and then was silent.

She died.

---

_Kagome could feel her miko powers start to overcome her will and purify her demon side. She smiled. She started falling through the emptyness of where she was. She just closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable stop at the end. _'I knew this would happen; that my miko powers would kill me. I just never thought it would be so soon. Inu Yasha and I were never even wed. I just hope he won't kill himself just to be with me. I accept my fate and I await to be taken.' _A single tear found its way from Kagomes eye. _'I love you Inu Yasha and I always will.'_ Was her last thought as she felt herself slowing down, then finally hitting bottom._

---

Inu Yasha couldn't believe it. Kagome had died, right in front of his eyes. He couldn't protect her. He just sat and stared at her unmoving body. Everything about her screamed that she was still alive, but there wasn't a pulse or heartbeat to be found, even with his demonic hearing. Everyone just sat there, no one believing what had happened right in front of them. Then, just as suddenly, the Jewel around her neck started to glow, as did each of their peices.

---

_'Did I die?'_ Kagome thought in her head. She slowly opened one of her eyes to see a dying fire next to her. She slowly looked around the room, noting where each of her friends were and how upset each looked. She noticed that Inu Yasha was nowhere to be found and tried to sit up, worried about him. A clawed hand stopped her. She fell back onto her back, with such a small amount of presure applied. She turned over to face him and curled up.

"What happened?" She asked slowly and quietly. He was sitting next to her, worrydly watching her.

"Some demon poisoned you almost three weeks ago. It somehow got rid of your demonic powers and strengthened your miko ones." He said, just as quietly as she. She just closed her eyes and nodded a little.

"Could you get me some water?" Kagome asked after a few minutes. He nodded and quietly fixed her a cup of water from some they had gotten from the river earlier that night. He returned quickly and helped her sit up to drink it. No words were said during any of this.

"Thanks." Kagome said after he had helped her lay back down. "Inu Yasha..." Kagome paused to make sure he was paying attention. "When are we going to tell them?" Inu Yasha thought for a few minutes.

"How about Christmas. Tomorrow is the twenty-third." Kagome smiled at him and nodded.

"Yeah. It'll be Momma's best Christmas present. And Inu Yasha?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I borrow your haori?" He nodded before taking off his signature red top and covering Kagome with it. "Thanks." She pulled it close to her and drifted back to sleep.

---

Kagome was up before dawn the next day. After more than two weeks of sleep, she needed some excersize, not to mention a bath. She felt in excellent condition, and just wanted to be outside. So, she left a little note where she was laying, and went out, bath supplies in hand. She also took Inu Yasha's haori with her, because it was, after all, just right after dawn. There was a pretty thick blanket of fog and snow over the entire village. Kagome didn't mind the snow at all. She and Sango had found a nice hot spring a ways into Inu Yasha's forest a couple of years ago and that's where she was headed. Little did she know that a certain individual was following her, making sure to remain hidden. Like it would have mattered much, Kagome was completely lost in thought and the only thing that would draw her out of it would be an evil demon approaching her.

---

Inu Yasha woke up with the dawn, like he had since his mother died, and even before. He noticed that Kagome was silently looking through her stuff in another corner. He pretended to still be asleep until she left. He picked up the note and read:

_Everyone,_

_I'm out at the hot spring. I know it's the middle of winter, and I was just poisoned, but I don't mind the cold and I need a bath. I should be back around nine or ten. _

_Kagome_

Inu Yasha just smiled after he read it. _'Typical Kagome.'_ He thought before replacing the note and silently leaving the hut and following her. He caught up with Kagome near the forest line. He silently followed her the entire way to the spring, but made sure he was turned the other way until she was in the water. He didn't actually watch her any of the time, he just sat up there while Kagome took her bath. In a weird way, it comforted him to watch over her. He waited until he was sure she was dressed and on her way back when he appeared to her.

"Kagome, we need to talk."

**End Chapter  
**O-o;; I just killed Kagome and brought her back to life in one chapter. I should have stopped it where she died, but I'm being nice. I've gotten the next chapter halfway written, so look for a new chapter soon!

Kat-Lyn


	26. Chapter 26

It was Christmas Day. Kagome always celebrated the futuristic holiday with the gang, but this was the first time her mother would be there with her. She planned on making it her best yet. Half of the day, she helped Keade and Sango prepare a nice meal while Inu Yasha went to get Mirouku, Shippou, Kirara, Kaida, Suko, and Tori. Sango and Keade took over most of the cooking duties, to give Kagome time to make some Christmas gifts for her friends. She had become really interested in sketching since she started traveling back to the feudal era, preferring drawing the scenery as opposed to taking a picture. Although a picture could capture one of the beautiful landscapes, Kagome's pencil and paper could bring it to life. So, Kagome sat in a corner of the hut with her pencils, and a pad of paper.

She drew out pictures for everyone. She drew Sango a picture of a sakura tree in full blossom with her and Mirouku standing underneath it. She drew Mirouku a picture of him and Sango, and Shippou, one of himself out in a field in the summer with herself in the background. She drew Keade a picture of Kikyou, when she was alive, with her as a child next to her. She drew her mother a picture of herself and Tori together, with Kagome and Inu Yasha in the background. She drew Kaida a picture of the day she stared down Kouga, with her finger pointed at him and a scared look on Kouga's face. She drew Tori a picture of the Higurashi Shrine in the future, and then she finally drew Inu Yasha's. His took her the longest, because she didn't know what to draw him. All the others didn't require too much thought behind them, but she wanted Inu Yasha's to be extra special. Most of the others she had done in the months of peace behind them, so she wouldn't have so much to do at Christmas.

Then she finally decided on what to draw him.

---

Inu Yasha and the others showed up a couple of hours away from sunset. They all sat down and shared stories and just talked until the sun had set completely, then they had dinner. After that, the started the gift giving.

Sango went first with a quite surprising gift. She gave a little speech about how much she appreciated Inu Yasha and Kagome letting her join their little group even after she had attacked them, and how much she has loved the past year. Then, she turned to Mirouku and sat down right next to him and kissed him right on the lips. _'You've always been the one who's made the moves first, now it's high time I did.'_ Sango thought as she ended the kiss.

---

Kagome went last in the gift giving. Everyone else had made little speeches and given small presents. Kagome didn't have a speech just yet so she just gave everyone their drawings, except Inu Yasha. She was planning on giving him that in private. Everyone loved theirs, and complimented her on her drawings very much, but then Kagome nodded to Inu Yasha and they both waited until everyone got quiet to continue.

"I only have one gift for one person. Although, all of you will be happy with it." Inu Yasha said while looking at the fire. He took a deep breath before taking Kagome's hand in his.

"We're getting married." Both said it at the same time. Suko was the first to get over the shock of the two finally admitting their love.

---

We find ourselves in the clearing in front of the Goshinboku. Inu Yasha and Kagome are in it, sitting next to each other at the ancient tree's roots in the pale moon light.

"So, you didn't make me anything for Christmas?" Inu Yasha asked Kagome slyly. She pretended to get angry at him.

"Of course I did, but now I might not give it to you." She folded her arms and struck a very Inu Yasha-like pose. After a few seconds both broke down laughing, somewhat. Kagome then picked up a small box next to her and opened it. After retrieving what was inside it, she fastened the box back together and handed Inu Yasha the small piece of paper. Inu Yasha was amazed. It was a sketch, like all of Kagome's other presents, but the others weren't anywhere near the level his was at.

It was a picture of a guy, obviously. He was in the air, supported by large silver wings. His long hair was blown out behind him, and his clothes, all in red, were similar to his own outfit. The expression on the guy was a peaceful one, and he was holding out his hand to, after a second of getting over the shock of the details on the guy, a girl sitting at the bottom of a well. She was in a long flowing dress of the palest shade of lavender, and had a small golden crown on top of her startling black hair.

"Wow."

"Tell me what you think of it. And be honest!" Kagome asked eagerly.

"Is this real silver on this?"

"No. Just a silver-looking powder."

"It's good. It's wonderful. Is that supposed to be me?" Inu Yasha asked in a sly tone.

"Well . . . " Kagome avoided his gaze. "Artistic licensing?" Kagome laughed nervously as a sweatdrop appeared. Inu Yasha just smiled at her.

"I love it."

---

December passed, and January did as well before any more bad news found our favorite couples. Myouga showed up suddenly one day near the end of January with terrible news.

"I've seen him myself. The demon that I told you about that was rumored to have the last tainted shard, it's true. That's not the worst I'm afraid." Myouga said solemnly.

"What is it?"

"Why would you willingly go some place that screams danger just for a shard?"

"I'm afraid that he has his heart set on killing you four; Inu Yasha, Kagome, Sango, and Mirouku."

"Great. Another Naraku. Just what we need."

"He is far worse than Naraku my lord! He is . . . " Myouga was cut off as a boom was heard throughout the entire village as a crater was formed in a clear spot near the village. The gang rushed out to the field to see what was going on. What they found, both shocked and angered them.

**End Chapter**  
Yay. I updated. I don't like the end part of this chapter. It took me forever to write. A funny story me and a friend made up about Myouga going into Naraku's lair to fight him inspired the last little bit a little.

Kat-Lyn


	27. Chapter 27

Standing there, in the middle of the crater, was a man. But he was no ordinary man. He was wearing elegant robes, all in black, with his short black hair loose. He was staring right at the gang with pure hatred in his dark brown eyes. He had a small golden star in the middle of his forehead and had long black nails, and pointed ears. He had a machete strapped to his back and a single dagger at his wrist.

It was the same guy that had poisoned Kagome.

"Seems that you are stronger than I imagined. I would have thought that your miko powers would have purified you." He spoke with a slight accent, he pronounced things sharper than anyone from Keade's village did, and spoke with hatred laced in every word. Kagome smirked at the man.

"It did." She said with a tone that almost made the gang back away from her. Then she spoke to Inu Yasha quietly where the man wouldn't hear. "Is there anything familiar with his scent to you?" Inu Yasha growled in response.

"Now that you mention it, he has Naraku's scent." Inu Yasha said with an underlying growl.

"Then how could I recognize it? It's someone we met since my blood became active again. I just can't place it." Kagome then noticed the man was reaching for his machete. Inu Yasha noticed this as well.

"Did you come here to fight us?"

"No. I came here to kill you all!" With that he leaped into the air above the gang and threw his machete like a boomerang. Kagome blocked it with a shield around them as the rest got prepared to attack him. The machete bounced off of Kagome's shield and soared back into his hand. The moment after the machete hit, the barrier dropped so the gang could attack. As the guy fell back to earth, Sango and Kirara attacked him from the air, taking his attention off of Mirouku, who was under him, holding out his staff and some sutras. Kagome stood back as Inu Yasha unsheathed the Tetsusaiga. She didn't have any weapons on her at the moment, or so it seemed. The gang had learned not to touch the few weapons Kagome had leaning in a corner of Keade's shed. Kagome held her arms up like she was holding her new bow, a relatively small four-foot one that was painted black with a silver string. She held her hands like she was holding a cross bow, with the hand she had pulled back slightly above her aiming hand. She channeled her miko powers into her hands, and the glow shaped itself into the form of her bow, which appeared after a minute. She quickly aimed with the empty bow, and right before firing, she formed an arrow into it. She fired the arrow with some of her miko powers straight at the man in black, who tried to dodge it. It hit him in the arm, thanks to Inu Yasha who was attacking him with slashes from his sword. The miko energy in the arrow tried to purify him, but only succeed in burning his arm from the inside out. He leapt back from the attacking Inu Yasha and threw his machete at Kagome, who wasn't paying attention because she was helping Mirouku gather pure energy to use against the man. They wanted to get rid of him fast. Kagome didn't notice it until it was seemingly too late.

The man's machete swung toward Kagome with speed, strength, and accuracy. Kagome heard the sound of the blade swinging through the air and looked up after it was too late. Time seemed to slow down as the blade drew nearer its mark, and no one had fast enough reflexes to help her. She shut her eyes as the blade drew nearer.

The clash of metal against metal sounded throughout the area. Kagome opened her eyes to see her mother standing there, both daggers drawn, and the machete lying on the ground in front of her.

"You! What have you done with him?" Suko yelled to the startled man, who chuckled at her.

"I knew you would find me out, sooner or later. Later, preferably, but alas!"

"Mom? What's going on?" Kagome asked out of sheer disbelief.

"Where is he?" Suko asked with the same glare of Kagome's that would stop Sesshoumaru dead in his tracks. It seems that it's an inherited trait(Chapter 21). The man smirked.

"Who is he?"

"He's been pretending to be Tori since I arrived, at least." He started clapping.

"Very good. I took him right before the well sealed the girl on this side." Suko growled at him. "I bet that you want him back now, don't you? Well, I'll tell you where he's at, after they're all dead!" He said as he cut himself with his tiny dagger and miasma similar to Naraku's poured out of the cut. Inu Yasha, who was nearest, leapt back quickly and tried to get where Kagome, Suko, and Mirouku were, only to have his escape prevented by a tentacle grabbing his leg.

"Inu Yasha!" Kagome quickly leapt into the gathering cloud of poison before anyone could react.

---

Kagome held her sleeve over her mouth and nose as she tried to find the man and Inu Yasha. She couldn't see very well and was shocked when Inu Yasha came flying at her from seemingly nowhere. He hit her straight on, with no chance of him catching himself as they rolled backwards to a stop. _'We have to get back out of here.'_ Kagome thought as she and Inu Yasha looked at each other. They both leapt outside the cloud, signaling to their friends that they were on their way out. Another tentacle reached out for them, but Kagome was ready. She purified the offending appendage as it neared her before they fell back into the poison cloud. Inu Yasha was prepared to leap again to get out, but Kagome set her feet and formed a strange handbell. She channeled her powers around herself and Inu Yasha and purified the air so they could breathe.

"Kagome, what are you doing?"

"We need to finish this now. I do not want another three-year journey after him."

"So sorry about your wedding. It looks like you'll be having a funeral together instead." The man's voice came from every direction in the cloud.

"Why don't you say that to our faces?" Kagome challenged him.

"And get purified like you did my miasma? I'll pass."

"Are you one of Naraku's detachments?" Inu Yasha asked.

"In a matter of speaking. He wanted a new kind of detachment, a more powerful one. So he killed the Lady of the North and kidnaped me, her son. He transferred his power, and hatred of you, to me from around the time he created Kagura and Kanna. I am ten times as powerful as he at his greatest, without the Shard I have." He appeared right in front of Kagome, right outside where she was purifying the air.

"It's the only tainted piece left. I traveled up and down the country looking for the Shards you had yet collected, and ran into an old enemy of yours. But, I am afraid that I must leave now. We will continue this battle another day." He said the last evilly as he leapt into the air and away. He floated away. Sango tried to get him with her boomerang, but he put up a shield around himself like Naraku's. The miasma disappeared slowly and revealed an exhausted Kagome keeping up her barrier. After she was sure the miasma was gone she stopped. She fell onto her knee from exhaustion. Inu Yasha was immediately trying to help her.

"That was a stupid thing for you to do, jumping in and rescuing me like that." Inu Yasha told her. She glared back at him but then smiled.

"Sometimes even a guardian angel needs rescuing." He picked her up and placed her on his back and walked over to the rest of the gang.

---

"He is ten times as great as Naraku without the Shard? This is bad." Mirouku stated. The gang and Suko had gathered back at Keade's. Inu Yasha had just finished explaining what had happened inside the miasma. Kagome was currently sitting up only thanks to Inu Yasha.

"I'm not use to keeping up a barrier without purifying any demons within it." Was the reason Kagome gave for her exhaustion.

"We need to destroy him before he gains any more power and followers. I'm with Kagome on this. We do not need another three-year hunt." Sango said. The original members of the gang nodded.

"How? How did he beat him?" Suko wondered quietly to herself. "He must be a rotten, no good, dishonorable person to beat my Tori. When I get a hold of him . . . " Suko glared at the fire. Kagome's personality is definitely inherited. Everyone heard what Suko said clearly, but ignored it, since it obviously belonged in her head.

"He said that he had teamed up with an old enemy of ours, right? If we could find out who, we . . . " Mirouku was interrupted by Inu Yasha.

"We could track him easily. The only problem is which enemies did we leave alive that would want to fight us again."

"We could go and see who has disappeared."

"That would take at least a year on its own. What we need is some sort of . . . "

"We need the Assassins." Suko said suddenly.

"Who are they?"

"A hundred member army hand-picked by Tori's father. They have sworn an allegiance to all the Southern Lords. There are ten squads of ten people. They are elite task forces, and they help maintain order and peace throughout the Southern lands. They pass on information about certain criminal activities, keep track of the current damiyo leaders and boundaries, and the where-abouts of known evil do-ers and all-around bad guys. They are who has kept this area around this village so peaceful and demon-free. True, most good demons will stay away from such a large human population, but this is the perfect target for those few who give us a bad name."

"But, I would have thought this area to fall under the Eastern Lands ruler."

"It was, until Tori met me. He bargained with the Eastern Lord for these lands, and the area around his village. More important, we need to find some friends."

"Well, we could find the ones that helped us defeat Naraku."

"That would be a great idea, except for one thing." Inu Yasha said.

"What?"

"My brother and that wolf."

"Why would that be a problem?" Suko asked, completely out of the loop on Inu Yasha and his brother's sentiment for one another.

"Well . . . Him and Sesshoumaru . . . Let's just say they aren't on great terms." Sango told Suko, with a glare from Inu Yasha.

"Shame. Well, I'll go get him and convince him to help us then." Suko said.

"No, we'll go. You need to stay here and contact the Assassins. It'll be faster for just me and Inu Yasha to go." Kagome said before sitting straight up and leaning back against the wall.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. We'll go get Kouga and his tribe too."

"Ok."

"We'll leave tomorrow."

---

"Are you sure you two want to go alone?" Sango asked as Inu Yasha and a now refreshed Kagome prepared to head off to gather their farthest away allies.

"Yeah. Don't worry about Sesshoumaru, after all, I doubt he wants to start a war with us." Kagome winked at Sango before leaving, taking off after Inu Yasha, who was now running across the rooftops. She quickly caught up to him as he entered the forest. Suko sighed before turning to Shippou and Kirara.

"You might want to cover your ears." She said before leaping on top of Keade's hut, though less gracefully as Inu Yasha and Kagome. She whistled, first pretty low, then into a high-pitched loud one that had Shippou and Kirara cringing without affecting any of the humans in the area. After a minute, she stopped and hopped down.

"Well, that's their way of keeping in contact with each other. The section that is over this area is over the village near the ocean; they rotate each month. If they don't show up, I'll try again in two weeks." Everyone agreed.

"Now what do we do?"  
"We wait."

---

"So, Inu Yasha, where are we headed first? Kouga's or Sesshoumaru's?" Kagome asked as she leapt from the trunks of the trees in the far end of Inu Yasha's forest as Inu Yasha leapt from the branches above her. They were currently heading out of the forest to the western border.

"We're already heading west so there's no point in us changing course now. Besides, it'll be easier to convince Sesshoumaru to help us without the wolf around." Inu Yasha said.

"Right. So, when and how long are we gonna sleep tonight?" Kagome asked as she noticed that it was getting slowly darker as the day drug on.

"Not tired already, are you?" Inu Yasha teased.

"No. I'm just curious."

"After the sun completely sets, then we'll decide on when to leave there, all right?"

"Sounds like a plan. So, do you know where Sesshoumaru is exactly?"

"No." Kagome almost didn't catch herself in time as she heard Inu Yasha's reply. "But we'll head to one of his places. We can find out when he'll be there again from the people inside."

---

"My Lord, two strange half demons seek council with you." A low-class youkai reported to Lord Sesshoumaru.

"What do they look like?"

"One is a male, clad in red, with silver hair and golden eyes . . . " The youkai was going to describe them more, but Sesshoumaru held up his hand for silence.

"Bring them to me."

"Yes my Lord." The demon exited and went and brought the two half demons to him.

"What brings you here, little brother?" Sesshoumaru said, without emotion, while looking his last remaining family over.

"I'm not here to fight you, if that's what your hinting at." Sesshoumaru turned to Inu Yasha's companion. She wore an emerald and black foreign outfit, was obviously more than half demon and an inu youkai, and had a small blackish-blue star in the middle of her forehead. He nodded to the strange female demon as she addressed him.

"We've come to ask a favor of you, Lord Sesshoumaru. I'm am the daughter of the current Southern Lord, Tori." Inu Yasha was surprised with Kagome's voice. She sounded like she knew she had power, was not afraid to use it, but was talking nicely to put up a good show. It seemed like Sesshoumaru knew that too.

"Why should I help you?" That did it.

"Why should you? That's a very good question. We need your help defeating a common enemy. He was the son of the Lady of the North, but he was kidnaped by Naraku when he was at his greatest, and gave this person his power. He has the last tainted Jewel shard, and he seems to be out for revenge against us. If this guy gains any more power, he could very well take over the country. Besides, he has kidnaped my father, and has taken over the Northern Lands, and some of yours and the Eastern Lords." Kagome looked over at Inu Yasha before turning her gaze back to Sesshoumaru.

"You have my attention."

---

After about a day of "talking," Kagome and Inu Yasha convinced Sesshoumaru to help them, again. They agreed to send word by Kaida to him when they found out anything pertaining to the bad guy. Kagome and Inu Yasha were currently heading for Kouga's but were still inside the Western lands. The only thing they had to go on was that it was north. They had found out from Sesshoumaru that Kouga's den wasn't in his lands, which left at least half of the Eastern and the entire Northern lands, added to the fact that their new enemy was the Lord of the North.

"This is going to be so much fun!" Kagome said sarcastically as she and Inu Yasha were running along a path out in the open country side. It was straight and flat, and they could see anyone coming for miles.

"Tell me about it, especially considering how Kouga acted when you told him you were part demon." Inu Yasha replied as he slowed down. Kagome noticed that he was falling behind so she slowed down with him.

"What's wrong?" Kagome asked worriedly at the look on Inu Yasha's face. He suddenly noticed her staring at him, which brought him out of his trance-like state.

"It's nothing. Don't worry." Inu Yasha shook his head a little before speeding up ahead of Kagome. They traveled silently until dark, where they rested and took off as soon as the sun rose the next morning.

All that day, Inu Yasha would suddenly go into a trance-like state, with the time he stayed like that progressing throughout the day, that by dark, Kagome would have to sit him to get him out of it.

---

"Inu Yasha, what's wrong?" Kagome asked worriedly as she helped the poor guy up from her sitting him to get him out of his trance. It was nearing dark, and they had slowly gotten out of the Western Lands. He shook his head gently trying to clear it before speaking.

"I don't know." Kagome looked him over once.

"We need to figure it out now what's causing it. You weren't like this until we started to get near the Eastern lands, were you?"

"No. When we passed through that little village, I started to feel like this. You know that village that the old miko stopped us in?"

"Since then and you haven't mentioned it?" Kagome glared at him.

"I didn't want you to worry. We have enough problems with that Lord at the moment." Inu Yasha said quietly with a faint blush on his cheeks. Kagome looked at him a moment with her glare, but soon smiled at him lovingly.

"Thanks. But we're going back to Keade's." Kagome stated firmly. "And I won't change my mind." Inu Yasha looked at her in disbelief a moment before sighing.

"All right. But what will we tell the others?"

"That we managed to get Sesshoumaru to help us." Kagome shrugged. "But we'll worry about them later. Right now, let's get some sleep." She said while leaning against Inu Yasha.

---

"Kagome!" Shippou launched himself at his motherlike figure as soon as she entered Keade's hut. It was just past dark, and everyone had already eaten. The original gang plus Kaida and Suko were there, along with an unknown demon, who was sitting in the back of the hut, silent. He wore an all black outfit, similar to Sango's battle outfit, minus the armor. He looked like a normal human, except for his black eyes.

"Hey guys. Any luck?" Kagome asked as she and Inu Yasha sat down in their normal places. She glanced at the guy in black quickly before looking back at her friends.

"Two teams of the Assassins are going to help us. How did it go with Sesshoumaru and Kouga?"

"Sesshoumaru agreed to help, but no luck in finding Kouga."

"How'd you convince him?" Kagome smirked a bit before moving her thumb against the middle of her forehead. A small blackish-blue star appeared.

"It proves that I'm the daughter of the Southern Lord." She wiped her thumb back over the star and it disappeared.

---

"Who could he have teamed up with?" Inu Yasha asked himself quietly. He was currently sitting in his normal corner of Keade's hut. It was passed midnight. Kagome lay near him, bundled up with Shippou sleeping soundly next to her. Inu Yasha looked over at her, and couldn't help but smile. _'If you only knew.'_ Kagome stirred a little before wincing in pain. Inu Yasha looked at her worriedly when she sat straight up, drenched in sweat and breathing heavily. She looked around in fear before her eyes landed on Inu Yasha. She launched herself into his arms.

"Kagome? What's wrong?" He asked her quietly. She started to settle down a bit.

"I had . . . I had a nightmare." She paused, trying to breathe before continuing. "I...You were talking to Kikyou . . . but she . . . She was different. She . . . she . . . " Kagome broke down into silent tears. Inu Yasha waited until she settled down a bit.

"What did she do?"

"She . . . she killed you." Kagome said, so quietly that Inu Yasha had trouble hearing it. "She then turned to me and said that I could never be happy, that it was my destiny to always be alone. She then joined that guy, the Northern Lord, and they took off together." She said quickly before breaking down again. Inu Yasha froze at her words.

"What if . . . What if he found a way to revive her? Could she have been the enemy he said he joined up with?"

---

"Hello Inu Yasha, Kagome." Takun said coldly as he approached the gang. They had found him, after searching for months. "You are here to kill me, I assume." He spoke in a calm manner, and pronounced every word precisely. He glared at the gang with his cold brown eyes. "I don't know. Why don't you tell us, since it seems like you have all the answers?" Suko asked coldly. Takun chuckled a bit before answering.

"You're here for revenge, aren't you, my Lady? I have not harmed Tori in any manner, though you might not believe me." He said, glancing to his right. All of a sudden, an arrow surrounded by a dark light shot toward the group, aimed at Kagome. She saw the arrow and managed to form a barrier in time around all of them so they wouldn't be effected. Kagome started to growl angrily.

"A dark miko arrow, to render my powers useless. You'll have to try harder than that . . . Kikyou!" She yelled the last part out while looking where the arrow came from.

"I told you that it wouldn't work, Takun." A cold emotionless voice said as a figure appeared from the distant tree line. When the person was in the full sunlight, the original members of the gang gasped in shock, and Inu Yasha and Kagome reacted by growling deeply at the woman. She was clothed in red miko pants, with a black top, and seemed to emanate dark miko energy. She glared at the gang with her cold brown eyes before focusing on Inu Yasha and Kagome. "You seem surprised to see me." She half-mocked them as she continued to walk closer to Takun.

"You know all of Urasue's little tricks, I see." Kagome said coldly to Takun. Takun smirked at her before crossing his arms.

"I didn't do anything. Like I said when we met first, I found her in my search for the last Shard. Now, Lady Suko, I believe you want this." He pulled a slip of paper out of his kimono. Suko looked at it, but from this distance it was impossible for her to tell what it said.

"Why would I want it?"

"It has the directions to where Tori is." He said in such an all-knowing tone that it set everyone off. Suko leapt at him without thinking, drawing both daggers at once. The battle finally began.

**End Chapter  
**So, it took me a while to get out this chapter, but I combined it with another to make it extra long, and I didn't like where I ended it. I've got half of the next chapter already typed up, and I'm going to go work on it right after I post this one. Sorry for the wait!  
Also, to anyone who's read my one-shot _Ended in Tragedy_, I'm going to continue it. Actually, I have several different ways to continue it, so there will be at least two more chapters, one of the real ending, and another for the alternate ending.

Shadow Kat


	28. Chapter 28

**SPOILER ALERT **This chapter contains spoilers for _Inu Yasha the Movie 3: Swords of an Honorable Ruler_. This chapter reveals much of Inu Yasha's past.

* * *

"Lady Suko, I'm shocked you can still fight after all these years." Takun mocked Suko as she swiped at him with a dagger. He barely avoided her as she lunged at him and tried to hit him with everything she could. Kagome could see a look unfamiliar in her mother's eyes. It was a look of determination that anyone from the group would know that it was the same look Inu Yasha had when he finished off Naraku. She was determined to kill him, at any costs, for the one she loves. Inu Yasha decided to give Suko some support, and drew Tetsusaiga as he ran near Takun and Suko. 

Meanwhile, Kagome wasn't idle. She had started to run after her mother, but was stopped when she noticed a dark arrow headed for her. She quickly dodged it before she summoned the sword her father had made for her before she was born. When she was close enough to the evil miko, she drew it quickly, and slashed her as she unsheathed it. It didn't transform, unlike Inu Yasha's, but it was incredibly sharp and Kagome had a plan. Kikyou managed to dodge most of the attack, resulting in a sleeve being ripped off. Kagome smirked as she stabbed at the miko.

"You know, I found out that I'm not your reincarnation after all." Kikyou was slightly shocked at Kagome's words, but didn't show it much. She dodged again as Kagome slashed at her again. "In fact, we're both reincarnations of Midoriko. Her soul wasn't entirely sealed into the Jewel." Kagome continued her relentless assault on Kikyou, never giving her enough space or time to use her arrows, miko energy, or even time to think.

---

Mirouku, Sango, Shippou, Kaida, Kirara, and ten unknown demons dressed in black stood back out of the fighting as Inu Yasha and Suko fought against Takun and Kagome battled Kikyou. They were about to jump in and help Kagome when, from out of nowhere, an arrow landed in front of them. They turned and saw about a hundred demons, advancing towards them. Shippou and Kaida paled when they saw them.

"Kaida, go get Sesshoumaru. We'll need him. We can't hold back that many demons for long." Mirouku told Kaida in a hushed voice. She nodded before taking off in a blur towards the setting sun.

"Let's just hope she can make it in time." Sango said quietly as she unstrapped her boomerang.

"Until the calvary shows up, we've got to make do." Mirouku said as he held the staff he got from Tori in a fighting position. Shippou nodded silently as he sat upon Kirara's head. The demons in black prepared their various weapons.

---

"Inu Yasha! Back off!" Suko growled at said person as they attacked Takun.

"Not a chance! You weren't there to fight Naraku, you don't know what he's capable of." Inu Yasha yelled back at Suko as he prepared to use his Kaze no Kizu on the evil lord. He was cut off by Suko.

"You two need to work together!" Kagome told them as she leapt back from the evil Kikyou. She had somehow managed to get an arrow and she now held it ready to fire at Kagome. Kagome leapt into the area Suko, Inu Yasha, and Takun were fighting in. She saw Kikyou release her arrow, and took a chance. She grabbed Takun by the arm and threw him in the path of the arrow. Before he knew what was going on, the dark arrow hit him. But, instead of purifying him like Kagome's arrows would, it seemed to strengthen him.

"I was afraid of that!" Kagome said before quickly leaping out of Takun's way as he headed straight towards her. Inu Yasha intercepted him as Kagome leapt away to go after Kikyou again.

---

It was a long, hard battle. Sesshoumaru showed up and helped out everyone fighting Takun's army. Kagome managed to defeat Kikyou, and then tried to help out her mother and fiance, but her energy gave out and all she could do was use her bow and arrows to shoot miko-power-less arrows. Suko managed to get Takun's Jewel Shard away from him and wound him severely, thanks to Kagome. Inu Yasha wounded Takun so that he couldn't move and was about to finish him off when Suko stopped him.

"Inu Yasha! Wait! He still hasn't told us where Tori is!" She yelled at him. Inu Yasha nodded before holding his fathers sword to Takun's neck.

"Where is he?" Takun just smirked at him. Suko growled at him and held her own dagger dangerously close to something every guy values. Takun paled a bit as the dagger inched closer and closer.

"One of my castles." He said, almost breathlessly, for the Tetsusaiga was less than an inch from his throat.

---

"Lord Inu Yasha! Lady Suko! Lady Kagome! You've returned!" Myouga yelled as he promptly attached himself to Inu Yasha's nose. Inu Yasha's eye twitched before he swatted the flea demon. The gang had been on their way back to the village, and Myouga found them in the forest.

"You didn't think we wouldn't, did ya?" Kagome asked, mockingly. Myouga just sweat dropped and tried to change the subject.

"Were you successful in beating the Northern lord?"

"Yes. We won't have any more problems from him." Suko replied.

"My Lady, where is Lord Tori?" He asked hesitantly.

"Somewhere in the North. That's all we could get from Takun." Kagome had managed to land a hit with an arrow and it tore the paper with the directions to Tori to shreds.

---

"Momma, what do you think of a wedding in the future?" Kagome asked her mother as they looked over a few drawings Kagome had done. The two were planning Kagome's and Inu Yasha's human wedding in Keade's hut. Kagome wanted it to be a mix of her own creation and American customs while Suko wanted a traditional one. "That way we can both win. We'll have a wedding like one from this era here, while we have an American one there."

"That might actually work. What do you think, Inu Yasha?" Inu Yasha was sitting in his corner, as usual, trying to think of someway to get out of helping plan.

"Whatever you two decide." He said quietly.

"If you want out of planning so bad, why didn't you ask? You can go help Mirouku with Keade's errands." Kagome smirked as Inu Yasha breathed a sigh of relief. Little did he know he'd be stuck following the old lady around carrying herbs for her while Mirouku got it easy by patrolling the area. "So, we'll have a wedding here that you get to plan, and we'll have one in the future that I get to plan. Right?" She asked her mother, making sure that's what they were going to do.

"Exactly. But we'll keep both small. Only the people closest to us." Suko agreed. Kagome then smirked.

"That means that Grandpa will have to put up with having four half-demons in the house."

---

"Souta! Dad! I'm home!" Suko called out as she, Kagome, Inu Yasha, and Tori entered the backdoor to the house. Kagome, Suko, and Tori all looked human. Souta yelled from the living room and came running out into the hall.

"Mom! You're back!" He hugged his mother before noticing Kagome and Inu Yasha.

"Kagome! Inu Yasha! I didn't think you'd come back!" He hugged both while Suko's dad, Keiji, entered the hallway from his room. He glared at Inu Yasha before turning to the person he didn't recognize.

"Who are you?" Tori looked at the other three before looking at Keiji.

"I'm Tori." He said cooly, although he knew Suko was glaring at him, silently telling him he would pay later. Keiji was about to say something, when Souta interrupted.

"I'm Souta! Would you play video games with me?" He looked at Tori eagerly, hoping he would be more fun than Inu Yasha.

"Sure." Tori lucked out by having Souta there, because Keiji wouldn't do anything to make the truth come out about what he is. Keiji huffed a bit before walking up to the other three after Souta and Tori left to the living room.

"Why did you bring him back here?"

"Grandpa, I'm not about to let my dad miss my wedding." Kagome told him before pulling Inu Yasha into the living room to avoid any shouting and arguments. Keiji stood in shock.

"I'll start fixing supper then." Suko said after a few minutes, breaking the silence between her and her father, before she practically ran off to the kitchen.

---

"Let's see, I'm inviting Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi, of course. And..." Kagome sat with a pencil in her mouth staring down at the notebook in front of her. She had written Guest List in big letters across the top of the page, and her three best friends names under it. "Who else?" Kagome was in her room, at her desk, with Inu Yasha sitting on her bed.

"It would crush Houjou, so I don't think I'll let the others tell him until after we've gone back." She chewed on the end of her pencil some more. "Maybe Cousin Yusuke and Aunt Asuko would come." She muttered but then quickly shook her head. "That idiot would ruin it, and neither would probably show up anyways." Neither of the two were actually blood relations to her, but she'd always known them as family.

"Crap! I don't know of anyone else to invite." Kagome said out loud before she dropped her head onto her desk.

"There's not anyone else you know of that would come? Any more family?" Inu Yasha asked.

"Well..." Kagome thought for a moment. "There's Grandmother's side of the family, but we can't exactly invite them."

"Why not?"

"Because, if they found out that you were Sesshoumaru's younger brother, and I'm Tori's daughter, they would flip." Kagome said plainly while looking up at Inu Yasha.

---

"Hi. Is Ayumi there?" Kagome spoke into the telephone. "Hey Ayumi. It's Kagome. Listen, will go meet me at the shrine? Yeah, it's important. No, I'm perfectly fine. Listen, I'll explain everything when you get here, but I've got to call Yuka and Eri. No! I mean, don't call Houjou. Just come over, alright? Okay, bye!" Kagome sighed as she hung up the phone. She then picked it back up and called Yuka.

"Hi. Is Yuka there? She isn't? Is she at Eri's? Alright, I'll call over there then. Thank you. Goodbye." She hung up and called Eri's house.

"Hi. Is Eri or Yuka there?" She waited as Eri told Yuka to go pick up the other phone so they could both talk. "Hey. Do you think you can come meet me over here at the shrine? It's really important. Yeah, Ayumi's already on her way. No, don't call him. It's private. Alright, bye you two!" Kagome hung up the phone before going into the living room, where Suko, Tori, Keiji and Inu Yasha were.

"All three are on their way."

---

"Hey Kagome!" Eri shouted out a greeting to her friend as she ran up the Higurashi Shrine steps, with Ayumi and Yuka not too far behind her. Kagome was standing next to the well house, waiting on them with Inu Yasha beside her. Kagome had made a disguise for him, so that he looked like the "typical" American goth.

"Hey! With as long as it took you, I thought something bad had happened to you on the way!" Kagome smiled as her friends walked over to her and caught their breaths for a moment.

"You have a lot of explaining!" Yuka started.

"Dropping out of school, all the sicknesses, blowing us off for the past year and a half!" Eri continued.

"And, your grandfather said that you would never be able to leave the hospital again!" Ayumi finished. Kagome sighed.

"Yeah, well, actually, I had planned on telling you all right now why I've had all sorts of crazy illnesses since my 15th birthday." Kagome admitted. Her friends smiled at her.

"Finally, we get to know the truth!"

"Yeah. But, before I tell you anything, you all have to swear that what you here will never be repeated to another person outside of us five. You can't even tell Houjou or your parents." Kagome said with a seriousness in her voice that scared her human friends. "And, you have to promise you won't interrupt until I'm done, alright?" She looked to her friends as each one of them nodded.

"You've known us long enough to know we don't tell important secrets to anyone."

"This goes beyond any high school crush or anything. But, before I begin, let's go in here." Kagome pointed to the well house. The door was opened, and Kagome had her grandfather install a set of small walkway lights around the steps inside and the well, but, it still looked menacing. The girls were a little hesitant.

"But, didn't your grandfather say that it was off-limits?"

"You sure we have to go down into that creepy place?"

"Why can't we stay out here, where it's nice and sunny?"

"Come on, nothing's going to attack you down there. And don't listen to Grandpa. He's a liar." She said before going into the well house. The other four followed her, Inu Yasha last. Kagome set down on the edge of the well and nodded at Inu Yasha when everyone was inside. He slid the doors closed, completing a barely visible symbol in the door on the inside.

"Alright. Now, you know the story of the Shikon Jewel, right?" Kagome waited on her friends to respond.

"Yeah, that's all we studied in Mythology last year."

"Okay. Well, tell me a summarized version of what you learned." The three girls looked to each other before they started.

"Well, there was this miko thousands of years ago. She fought demons all over, but finally found a match in a giant serpent or something."

"They fought for a long time in a cave, but neither side would give up. Finally, the miko, Midoriko was her name, I think, she had enough and used the last of her energy to seal her soul and the demons soul together."

"She and the demon turned to stone, and the Shikon Jewel was created. It could multiply a person's or demon's powers enormously, and could be corrupted or purified. I think that covers it."

"Okay. That's pretty much it. Miko's were the ones who could purify it. Anyways, did you hear about a hanyou named Inu Yasha or another one named Naraku?"

"Yeah. Inu Yasha and a miko girl split the Shikon and went on a quest to finish it. Naraku was the cause of it, but we never really learned why."

"Okay. 500 years ago, Naraku, an evil human-turned-demon, sought after a miko named Kikyou. As a human, he had been burnt badly for his crimes, and even been pushed off a cliff to break his legs. Kikyou found him and took care of him. Soon, he lusted after her. She had possession of the Shikon, to keep it pure. She met a half-demon named Inu Yasha when he came for the Jewel to become a full demon. Naraku was tired of being unable to move or some other crap and invited demons to join their souls within him, granting him their power, long-life, and ability to heal. Well, the demons corrupted his heart, and decided to trick Inu Yasha and Kikyou. Kikyou ended up sealing Inu Yasha in a death-like sleep, while she passed away from wounds given to her by Naraku. Fifty years later, a young miko girl found and released Inu Yasha from his slumber, and after several disastrous events, the Jewel was shattered. Inu Yasha and the miko girl went on a three year long hunt for the Shards, and had to defeat Naraku, who at one point, collected almost all the Shards. The two were aided by a monk who's family had been cursed by Naraku, the last of a great village of demon slayers whose village had been wiped out by Naraku, and a small fox demon child, who's parents had been killed by Shard-hungry demons. That pretty much sums it up, I think." Kagome's friends had payed attention to the story very well, and were disappointed when she stopped.

"Kagome, why'd you tell us that?"

"And how do you even know all that?" Her friends questioned her.

"I told you that story to tell you this one." Her friends quieted down as Kagome stood up and walked to backside of the Well and sat on it, facing her friends.

"About 700 years ago, I think, there was a great and powerful dog demon. He was so powerful, he became Lord of the Western Lands of Japan. He was a wonderful person, and soon befriended the son of the Lord of the South, Tori. Tori and Inutaisho, the Western Lord, soon became like brothers. Inutaisho had a son, Sesshoumaru, but found another wife, a human Lady named Izayoi, and had a half-demon son, who he named Inu Yasha, and Tori, who was part human, found a half-demon wife. On the night of Inu Yasha's birth, the humans in the castle that Izayoi lived in attacked Inutaisho. He made a valiant rescue of his wife and son, but perished in a fire that night. Tori, who had made a vow to Inutaisho before his death, promised to arrange a marriage to his daughter, if his wife had a girl, to Inu Yasha. Nearly a year later, Tori's wife gave birth to a half-demon girl. Soon, Inu Yasha and Tori's daughter were hardly out of each other's sight, and got into some trouble, like rowdy kids do. When Inu Yasha was about five, a rouge demon from the Northern Lands attacked Tori and his family soon after Tori's second child was born. Tori's family escaped into this well," Kagome paused while looking at said well, "and disappeared for 200 years. Tori managed to defeat the demon, but he couldn't get to his family. A week later, he burned down his house that was in this area, and left. He settled down in a small village by the sea, and helped protect innocents there." Kagome stopped and looked up to Inu Yasha, who nodded and sat down in front of the doors.

"How did they escape?"

"Why couldn't Tori find them?"

"Is Inutaisho's son Inu Yasha the same Inu Yasha that defeated Naraku?"

"First, yes, Inutaisho's son is the same Inu Yasha that defeated Naraku. Now, what I'm about to tell you next, you probably won't believe, will think I've gone insane, and you cannot tell anyone else." Kagome looked at her friends, who nodded in understanding, and all three sat down on the steps.

"Alright. Tori's family escaped by going 500 years into the future, about 10 years ago. Tori's wife was named Suko Higurashi, his children, Kagome and Souta Higurashi." Kagome paused waiting to see her friends reactions. What she saw didn't surprise her much.

"So...," Ayumi started, getting over the shock quicker than the others. "What you're telling us, is that your dad is Tori, and that you, your mom, and Souta are all half-demon?" Kagome nodded.

"No...way." Kagome smiled at them.

"Now, you guys, please don't freak out, okay? I'm also the miko that helped Inu Yasha defeat Naraku." That was it.

"There's no way you could be here now, **and** 500 years in the past!"

"Actually, there is. The Bone Eater's Well, the name given to this well in Inu Yasha's time. It can transport me, Inu Yasha, Momma, and Tori to the past, and to here. All we have to do it jump down." Kagome said as she stood up on the edge of the well. She waited on her friends. It took them a few minutes to digest this new information before she spoke again. They talked amongst themselves, even though Kagome and Inu Yasha heard every word.

"So, have you found Inu Yasha yet?" Kagome was amazed at their question.

"You guys don't think I'm insane?"

"Not really. We know you better than that, Kagome. You wouldn't do something this elaborate just to prank us."

"Okay, well, see the gothic guy behind you?" All three turned to look at the guy. He smirked as Kagome undid his disguise.

**End Chapter  
**Well, there's officially only one more chapter left. It also includes the epilouge, but in reverse order. The epiloge comes before the actual chapter, but I think it has a nice overall effect. I've just got to finish up the rest of the epilouge before I can post it though, so it might take a few days. I've got a small AU side story that I'm working on, after the idea hit me, but I don't know if I'll finish it.  
Also, I had almost forgotten about Kagome being Kikyou's reincarnation. That is, until I got a review asking how it worked out. Sorry about taking so long to respond about it, but I couldn't fit it in anywhere except here, second to last chapter.

Shadow Kat


	29. Chapter 29 Fin

The wedding couldn't have been better; Sesshoumaru even showed up with Rin. After that, it was off to the future to have a wedding at the shrine at sunset. Surprisingly, not only did Kagome's three best human friends show up, but her 'cousin' Yusuke and some more family did as well. Inu Yasha and Kagome came back to the past that night, and the next morning, they started working on a small house for them to live in. They finished it within a week, with Sango and Mirouku helping out. The years went by peacefully, with Kagome helping the Assassins protect and maintain her father's lands while he stayed in the future with Suko, and that no demons attacked them for the Jewel. Rumors had spread that the Jewel was under the protection of both the Lord of the West and Lord of the South, so not many dared to challenge them. Tori's small seaside village grew into a large town full of professional demon slayers, lead by one of the last originals, Kohaku, with the occasional help from Sango and Mirouku, her husband. Keade's village became a safe place for good demons in peril to turn to, and were treacherous lands for evil demons to tread.

Soon after Kagome and Inu Yasha's wedding, Mirouku and Sango had theirs. Kagome and Sango both had their first children within a month of each other, a month or so after their one-year anniversaries. Kagome had a son whom they named Keitaro; he looked a lot like Kagome, but with all black hair and tail and Inu Yasha's golden eyes. Sango had a girl, much to the surprise of Mirouku, who they named Mai. She had her father's eyes, but her mother's looks. The children grew up well under the care of their parents, and were often seen together in Keade's village, since that is where Sango and Mirouku had settled down.

Kagome had another child when Keitaro and Mai were about five, but she had the new child in the winter, and named her Midori; partly after Midoriko, and partly because her eyes were pure green. She was a duplicate of Inu Yasha in every way except for her eyes. Midori was trained in the same ways as Keitaro, but she did not inherit much of Kagome's spiritual powers, although Keitaro did.

Keitaro, Mai, and Midori were almost constant companions, fighting with each other to enhance their skills. As time wore on, Kagome and Inu Yasha took their two children with them to the future, to meet their family. Souta had already graduated high school, and decided to live near the shrine, so he could still visit with his family, and still go to work. Souta was told about Tori and his demon heritage, but decided to live a normal life as a human. He now worked for an electronics company, helping make and design games. He created one which he called Feudal Adventures, which was a huge success and involved two human siblings growing up in a demon town. Of course, Souta was helped by Kagome and Inu Yasha; they told him about most of their adventures after the Jewel Shards.

Tori and Suko lived happily together, raising Souta and living peacefully through the modern times. When Souta was 25, Kagome 29, Tori and Suko had another child, a girl they named Yuki, who they decided to raise in the future, with occasional trips to the past. Tori helped his villagers occasionally when he was in the past.

Shippou stayed with Kagome and Inu Yasha, acting just like their son, and they treated him as such. When Keitaro came along, Shippou helped out as much as he could, mainly helping Inu Yasha with chores while Kagome tended to him, and watching over Keitaro when Midori was born. By that time, he'd grown beyond a few feet; he looked to be about 15, even though he was much older. He finally grew enough to turn into his demon form; he looked exactly like his father, but he had lighter gold fur on his paws. He stayed with his family for a while, but then moved out into the forest, far enough away from Kagome's house to not be seen from it, but close enough to hear any screams for help from the village or Kagome's house. Shippou helped watch his siblings often, most of the time in his demon form. He also helped Kagome gather herbs when she couldn't find it anywhere nearby.

Soon after Midori was born, Souten showed up again, to the surprise of the original gang. She had grown, as much as Shippou had, and had become a very beautiful demoness. Soon afterwards she left, but returned often, staying for a few days before going back to her home. Her visits continued for a year, and during that time she and Shippou had fallen in love. They were 'wed' and they lived together in her old home, even though Shippou still remembered her older brothers and how they slaughtered his father. Souten soon had a baby boy whom they named Makoto. He had his father's emerald eyes, but his mother's looks, taking after Hiten more than Shippou would have liked. Nonetheless, he loved him, and brought him to Keade's village on more than one occasion to play with Keitaro, Mai and Midori.

---

Kagome was helping Keade in the village one day. After all, she was old and less able to move now-a-days. She was gathering herbs from her small garden, with Keade overseeing, when it happened. Kagome realized something.

As she thought over everything that had happened to her, from the almost forgotten memories from when she was a child, to growing up in the future, to falling through the well the first time, and all the adventures she's had since then, she knew her journey was over.

She lived peacefully near Keade's village, helping the elder miko often. She had two wonderful children, and lived with them and the only love in her life in a wonderful home in the forest. Her 'sister' Sango had married her love, and lived just a sprint away. Sango's village was rebuilding, with Kohaku taking his father's place wonderfully, although she could tell he wanted something more.

Naraku was gone, Takun was gone, and she knew her father, the man she wanted to meet since she forgot about him. Her mother was reunited with her love, and her eldest son had a wonderful mate and child. She couldn't have been happier.

Kagome looked up at the clear blue sky and smiled. It had been a perfect year, and she could already tell that it was going to be perfect for a long time still.

"Kagome? What is on ye mind?" Keade asked her, but she didn't really hear her.

"Nothing." She replied distractedly, her gaze dropping lower to look at the edge of the forest. She could see Souten and Shippou coming this way, with Makoto sitting on Shippou's shoulder. Keitaro was walking near them, Midori sitting on his head, and Inu Yasha walking next to him, arms crossed and a smile on his face. Kagome smiled even more. She realized then that she had the only thing she ever wanted for herself.

Happiness.

**End**

Finally! It's over! I do not like this story anymore, and I just found this again after my computer crashed.

I am not a big Inu Yasha fan anymore, and I do believe this to be my last Inu Yasha fan fiction. I am currently writing a new fiction that takes a complete turn away from this, which I hope to actually post here. It's a FullMetal Alchemist fan fiction that will not end up being a very happy story, as is the theme with the series. I don't want to give away much, but it will have the same angsty atmosphere as the first part of my other fiction, _Ended in Tragedy. _I need a beta-reader, so if anyone wants to, tell me somewhere, either in a review, a pm, or an email.

Good-bye everyone!

Kat


End file.
